Would you like a spin-off? «12...Next Go

AlbaWaterhouse

Since the announcement of StrangerVille much has been debated in the community about whether the devs should add more story driven packs like this one to the main game or whether they should rather make them as stand alone games on the side.

Here is an example of the argumentation pro spin-off:
https://youtu.be/9n0IvjB7cr8

And here is the argumentation against:

https://twitter.com/Cinderellimouse/status/1100074069926526976

I would love to know what everyone thinks about it and see arguments for or against and/or alternatives. I think it's a very interesting topic.

SimAlexandria

No

I don't know why I would want to pay $ $25 Canadian for it to be a standalone game, instead of $25 to get the same thing but I can use it in the game I already have... Having it as a standalone game really limited what I could do with it I would think. I like that I can use all the build mode stuff and the cas in The Sims game I already have and if it didn't add to the Sims game I'm already playing I would definitely not buy it.

Archieonic

No

Absolutely not. I had mixed feelings but after playing it, I'm on board with this style. Being able to fully utilize all other packs with this is easily much more enjoyable than a restricted standalone. Wanna make a sim get famous from streaming posessed sims? Want to host a whole household of guardian dogs? Want to throw down night bbqs while playing basketball and roaming posessed sims? Want to run a retail store selling all sorts of strange plants and conspiracy gear? Want to run a creepy restaurant there? Want to have secret club gatherings and go around town wrecking havoc? Want to be a hero vampire that saves the town? Go right ahead.

Now don't get me wrong I loved TSM, but it got stale after a while. I loved the premise but disliked the limited approach. I am shockingly having a blast playing the story in Strangerville at my pace, my style.

comicsforlife

No

Archieonic wrote: »

Absolutely not. I had mixed feelings but after playing it, I'm on board with this style. Being able to fully utilize all other packs with this is easily much more enjoyable than a restricted standalone. Wanna make a sim get famous from streaming posessed sims? Want to host a whole household of guardian dogs? Want to throw down night bbqs while playing basketball and roaming posessed sims? Want to run a retail store selling all sorts of strange plants and conspiracy gear? Want to run a creepy restaurant there? Want to have secret club gatherings and go around town wrecking havoc? Want to be a hero vampire that saves the town? Go right ahead.

Now don't get me wrong I loved TSM, but it got stale after a while. I loved the premise but disliked the limited approach. I am shockingly having a blast playing the story in Strangerville at my pace, my style.

me to and I want more

annaliese39

Yes

Oops, I think I should have picked other? Honestly I would just prefer TS4 packs to focus more on open, versatile gameplay. I have no interest in spin offs or playing someone else's story, so neither option appeals to me much. I prefer to create and play my own stories. I do like the Strangerville theme, but would prefer any in future to be less repetitive and goal driven, and there to inspire our own stories and make it our own.

musteni

No

I strongly prefer the way they did it. Very unlikely I would buy a spin off.

Derella

No

I thought I did? But the more I think about it, I don't. I would like to see more story/goal type packs added though. Things like Castaway would be a lot of fun, especially if they added some core gameplay so that there was a use for the pack after playing through it a few times.

Simburian

Other

I've given up buying Sims standalone games after SimCity 5 and Medieval. An occasional foray into adventure in Sims 4 is quite acceptable and enjoyable as long as it doesn't affect gameplay too much.

If they couldn't produce a Sims Farm or Zoo pack for this iteration, as they might be too big to consider, I wouldn't mind those being a standalone pack if one could port one's Sims into them. (you could do this in early Sims games like SimGolf or SimCity4).

SheriSim57

No

I haven’t got strangerville yet but plan to very soon. And, I would most likely not buy it if it were a spin off. I have heard that after you play through the mystery the town is like any other, that you don’t have to repeat it if you don’t want to. The gamepack comes with a new aspiration, new trait and a beautiful new world, along with some beautiful build items, CAS assets and a new military career. Some of the build items are beautiful. And I think it will be fun to play through the mystery at least once. If this becomes a once in awhile pack type and adds to the game, I see nothing wrong with it.

SheriSim57

No

I forgot to press the vote button before adding my text. It is NO spin-off.

duhboy2u2

No

No. I'm quite happy with this style content being added to Sims 4. I'm having fun with this and I love the new town. I just feel like, as long as its offered for the Sims 4 I have no problem plunking down 20 dollars for this content, but if it were stand alone content, chances are, I'd never even look at it and I'd miss out. Spin-off content has never appealed to me in general though.

Goldmoldar

Yes

I voted Yes as I do find Strangerville intriguing but at the same time limited the way EA/Maxis did it. The value for me to pay at an price point that EA/Maxis set is just not there so I rather wait for price drop to get it an price point that I am willing to pay. If the replayability was good then maybe I would reconsider. I would buy an spinoff like it was done with Sims 2 spinoffs because it allows more freedom than mixing it with the main story. As far as losing any features that would come with an spinoff can be added to the main story outside of the side story that would be in the standalone. It appears to me with each version it moving further and further away from total creativity and player rule.

dreamprisoner

No

When I finish a spin-off, I'm not motivated to carry on playing the family, because I've got to juggle the spin-off and the actual game. Why play free mode in the spin-off when I could play Sims 4?

Now that StrangerVille is part of the actual game, when I finish I can continue to play that sim and grow their family. It feels as if progress has actually been made, rather than simply the closing of a book.

ladybreid

No

This still has a lot of room for growth I won't invest in another sims until this one feels complete by sims standards.

NorthDakotaGamer

Other

If they want to "add story" it should only be by spin off. What they just did via the new pack is destroy the sandbox by adding a story mode.

Hermitgirl

No

Oh Jez- Louise no.
I want the main packs we need still need and some other good ones to fill out our sims in the more standard format but I'd love to have a few more story driven gamepacks added in also. Especially if added in this more sandboxy way to the game. This is and will continue to be incredibly fun for me to play because I love this niche (campy sci-fi) and now I can use all the stuff that came with it in my other/separate stories.
I can go back to this story when ever I want, play it at my leisure , weave parts of it in and leave parts behind and make up my own story with assets in the pack or skip it and just enjoy being in Strangeville in whichever state I chose to leave it in. This is adding a bit of backstory in for some of my sims also. I don't agree in the least with simmers who believe this is a one shot because it certainly isn't for me.
I especially love that this infection is contained to the town.. well maybe you can bring some parts of it out of the town but you as the simmer are making that choice.. I haven't tested whether it can be done yet.
Big win is on top of this we get all the goodies that came with the pack to use in our standard/separate stories that looked to be made with incredible passion from my viewpoint.

luthienrising

No

No, I'm really happy for this model. One, it lets me give this adventure to my existing Sims. Two, it lets the pack be more than a one-off -- my Sims will be able to stay there.

Bagoas77

Yes

Mainly because I think that that would make it easier for a competitor to start making similar, standalone Simesque content. It would give them a chance to start off small and help them gain a following for their take of a true life simulation game (not just a time sink)... and build upon that.

Sigzy05

Other

Honestly I don't really want more of these packs.

EnkiSchmidt

No

I would buy spin-offs if they offered sims core gameplay, only in another environment or era. But not story-driven ones. Strangerville's story content is an addon to the CAS/world/buymode content, which suits me fine.

Treebrooke

No

The Sims Stories series was never as fleshed out as the regular game and the whole "Meant to be played a certain way" thing that the guy mentions would kill the game.

soko37

Yes

I just dont care to have them exist really

ctthomas

Other

Depends on how detailed it is, and what features it has. My hope is that it would still encompass the ability to CAS.

I would imagine it to be MySims Agents with better graphics and interactions, plus the CAS. That would be cool!

It would have to be in-depth enough, though, to warrant buying a completely separate game.

3KNPen

Yes

I would love a full spinoff game ala Castaway or Medeival.

However I also want to see more story driven packs within Sims 4. I’d also LOVE to see EA/Maxis do some sort of Voidcritter spin-off too maybe along the lines of MySims.

So I guess I should have picked Other because in reality I want it ALL to happen in the future.

poltergeist

No

the only sims spin-off i want is a historical one, and i don't want that to be an rpg.

thatsnotsweg

No

I hated that Medieval was a spin-off for TS3 and that we couldn't use those assets in the main game (without cc at least, I know that there's cc versions of TS Medieval stuff that you can download) and always wished it had been part of the main game. I wouldn't buy any TS4 spin-offs, but if they keep making packs like Strangerville for the main game, I will.

The only spin-offs I liked were Castaway for DS and The Urbz on PS2, but those were made for consoles so I don't really count them. Spin-offs for PC would not appeal to me at all and I wouldn't buy a console game at this point because I barely use them now that I have a good computer. I'd prefer they just add things to the full game or not at all.