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Opinions of Familiars?

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  • Steve StormSteve Storm Posts: 106 Member

    Would’ve loved for them to be a bit more actively relevant in spellcaster spell work, with each one giving different buffs!

    I 100% agree. It would have been awesome if each specific Familiar had an associated skill boost/perk. It would have added to their collect-ability and could have enhanced gameplay in interesting ways.
  • RobinGreenthumbRobinGreenthumb Posts: 237 Member
    I 100% agree. It would have been awesome if each specific Familiar had an associated skill boost/perk. It would have added to their collect-ability and could have enhanced gameplay in interesting ways.

    Exactly. Like, I get why they made the design decision they did- buuut man sometimes I just think about what could’ve been.

    Overall cute and fun but some aspects seem to be a passed opportunity for making deeper gameplay.
  • People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?
    Madotsuki-Chair-Spin.gif
  • SimTrippySimTrippy Posts: 7,651 Member
    edited September 2019
    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?

    Tbf it was an EP - but I think wanting familiars to be a bit more involved than they are would've still been 100% possible within the scope of a GP. Perhaps not as involved as the dragons in Makin' Magic, but more than "summon/dismiss". Again, love the pack, but I wish familiars could just do a few things more than they do right now.
  • To7mTo7m Posts: 5,467 Member
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?

    Tbf it was an EP - but I think wanting familiars to be a bit more involved than they are would've still been 100% possible within the scope of a GP. Perhaps not as involved as the dragons in Makin' Magic, but more than "summon/dismiss". Again, love the pack, but I wish familiars could just do a few things more than they do right now.

    I really hate this whole “but it’s an EP” so what? That shouldn’t make the quality of the pick any less. Content, yeah ok, but not quality. This whole “it’s an EP, it’s a GP” is getting on my nerves. I don’t care what it is I expect 110% effort.

    —T
  • SimTrippySimTrippy Posts: 7,651 Member
    edited September 2019
    To7m wrote: »
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?

    Tbf it was an EP - but I think wanting familiars to be a bit more involved than they are would've still been 100% possible within the scope of a GP. Perhaps not as involved as the dragons in Makin' Magic, but more than "summon/dismiss". Again, love the pack, but I wish familiars could just do a few things more than they do right now.

    I really hate this whole “but it’s an EP” so what? That shouldn’t make the quality of the pick any less. Content, yeah ok, but not quality. This whole “it’s an EP, it’s a GP” is getting on my nerves. I don’t care what it is I expect 110% effort.

    —T

    Oh I 110% agree with you. Plus, the argument is often flawed, because looking at WA for example, even if JA had included only exactly half of that, it would've included far more than it does. It's an unfortunate TS4 thing that we've just kinda learned to accept less content overall. However - when they do it well, they do it really well, and it's not just about quantity, but like you said, quality.
  • NADYSOPHIENADYSOPHIE Posts: 356 Member
    .....yeah I kinda wish the familiar were more useful, it would be cool if I could send them off to collect ingredients for my potions, and the more rare familiars you find the more rare ingredients they would find like that you would explore the world to try to find a rare familiar to have rare ingredients
  • DannydanboDannydanbo Posts: 18,057 Member
    They don't like doing the same thing over and over. That's why they try to change it up every time. We've already had pet dragons twice (S1 and S3) so I didn't expect dragons this time. I don't want to take time away from learning magic to have to care for another pet that probably would count as a household member. I like that they come and go when commanded and keep our sims safe from death. Plus, we can have as many as we want.
  • telemwilltelemwill Posts: 1,752 Member
    I would be happier with familiars if you could talk with them and increase your social. I mean, you can talk to PLANTS in this game.

    I do think they are cute though. I like trying to find them all.
  • To7mTo7m Posts: 5,467 Member
    edited September 2019
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    To7m wrote: »
    SimTrippy wrote: »
    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?

    Tbf it was an EP - but I think wanting familiars to be a bit more involved than they are would've still been 100% possible within the scope of a GP. Perhaps not as involved as the dragons in Makin' Magic, but more than "summon/dismiss". Again, love the pack, but I wish familiars could just do a few things more than they do right now.

    I really hate this whole “but it’s an EP” so what? That shouldn’t make the quality of the pick any less. Content, yeah ok, but not quality. This whole “it’s an EP, it’s a GP” is getting on my nerves. I don’t care what it is I expect 110% effort.

    —T

    Oh I 110% agree with you. Plus, the argument is often flawed, because looking at WA for example, even if JA had included only exactly half of that, it would've included far more than it does. It's an unfortunate TS4 thing that we've just kinda learned to accept less content overall. However - when they do it well, they do it really well, and it's not just about quantity, but like you said, quality.

    This is what annoys me even more. Take vampires for example; that pack is SO good. Compared to ROM, it has more stuff an extra lot and all the houses have the correct number of doors (yeah I’m not letting this go lol).

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying ROM. I had to buy it. I’m glad I did. But it didn’t quite hit the sweet spot. Familiars are pathetic. There’s no clothes for kids. Toddlers have no magical animations. Have you noticed if you mentor another magical sim in spellcasting your sim will use a random wand and not the wand they own? I mean, these aren’t big things to expect in ANY pack. It’s just incompetence.

    Quality over quantity if this is what they’re going to offer.

    —T
    Post edited by To7m on
  • MaggieMarleyMaggieMarley Posts: 5,299 Member
    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?
    *Cries with longing*
  • simfriend1968simfriend1968 Posts: 578 Member
    edited September 2019
    Ok, I loved Makin’ Magic in TS1 (my absolute favourite magic pack of all time still), and I loved the dragons in particular. (TS3 dragons, a store item, just didn’t compare). However, they were a pet and behaved like a pet (in both their good and annoying aspects). At no time did the Sim gurus ever promise a new type of pet. The first description of the familiars (in an early tweet) was that they were drone-like, and early on the gurus also said they were interchangeable. So the gurus tried not to raise expectations. A new pet would have been nice but it is also nice to have a magical creature protect your sims from death while looking magic and not like a drone robot.
  • Ceres_MeirionaCeres_Meiriona Posts: 5,006 Member
    edited September 2019
    I was pleasantly surprised that the kids can use them, and I expected them to be drone like so that was no surprise for me. That aspect of familiars was pretty clear from the game play preview they did before RoM released. What I didn't expect, though, was how little dialogue I am seeing from them. Once my spell caster maxed out, my familiar hasn't really said much. I actually enjoy reading the more unique notifications that the game provides, and I was looking forward to dialogue quirks from my familiars, but I honestly haven't heard much from my familiar now that I know all the spells. If I'm going to cruise around with a stylish drone at my back, at least make it a properly sarcastic and tongue flaying familiar that is going to make me snicker with maniacal delight. There are some very creative writers on the development team, so I feel like a little more witty banter from our familiars isn't too much to ask for. An option to click on your familiar and prompt an insulting or supportive comment from them would have been a nice touch.

    I do appreciate them allowing cats to be familiars, though. That was a nice option that will allow my sims to have a more realistic familiar to caster relationship should I ever want one. I'm not a big fan of pets in my game, so I may never use this option, but I like knowing that it's there. I wasn't sure they would put the effort into developing it, and I was happy to see that they did. Big kudos for that!
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  • Atreya33Atreya33 Posts: 4,409 Member

    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?

    After reading this I want to play sims 1 again, just tottake a look at the magic town and the pet dragons. To bad I can't get it to run on my pc anymore. I would have preferred one full pet familiar over a 11 drone like one's.
    Ok, I loved Makin’ Magic in TS1 (my absolute favourite magic pack of all time still), and I loved the dragons in particular. (TS3 dragons, a store item, just didn’t compare). However, they were a pet and behaved like a pet (in both their good and annoying aspects). At no time did the Sim gurus ever promise a new type of pet. The first description of the familiars (in an early tweet) was that they were drone-like, and early on the gurus also said they were interchangeable. So the gurus tried not to raise expectations. A new pet would have been nice but it is also nice to have a magical creature protect your sims from death while looking magic and not like a drone robot.

    You are right when you point out we knew from the beginning they were drone like. I never expected them to be more. But I would have definitely preferred it if our sims could interact with them a bit more.
  • comicsforlifecomicsforlife Posts: 9,585 Member
    I've not given up hope for more dragons later on they said just because fairies were Familiars that it didn't mean there wouldn't be any other fairies later on so the same could be said for dragons
    more for sim kids and more drama please
  • KiloD2KiloD2 Posts: 57 Member
    The only reason I'm disappointed in them is that I misunderstood the original posts that said we would be able to send them to forage for ingredients, not realizing that *only* applied to cats and dogs...
  • FluffyButt0392FluffyButt0392 Posts: 1 New Member
    Weeeeell you can if you set your cat or dog as your familiar. I like that there is that integration between packs. [/quote]

    True. I actually made my IRL cat (Salem) my familiar. It doesn't work as well as the orb familiars because the cat would always be napping or rubbing against my Sim's legs or complaining that she's hungry during a duel. Well, at least [i]that[/i] is realistic.
  • liliaethliliaeth Posts: 1,087 Member
    Weeeeell you can if you set your cat or dog as your familiar. I like that there is that integration between packs.

    True. I actually made my IRL cat (Salem) my familiar. It doesn't work as well as the orb familiars because the cat would always be napping or rubbing against my Sim's legs or complaining that she's hungry during a duel. Well, at least that is realistic.[/quote]

    I made my sims cats the familiar of one of them, only half the time, she's spending her time with my other sim, instead of the one she's a familiar too.
  • SindocatSindocat Posts: 5,622 Member
    One thing I notice is NO ONE ELSE in the Magic Realm has a familiar out. Do they just collect jars? I see them make potions, use brooms, some use wands. But only my Sims use a familiar. I guess if everyone did it could get cluttered, fast.
  • SilentKittySilentKitty Posts: 4,665 Member
    People just expect way too much from a Game Pack...

    I'd say the problem is that people expect too little.

    In the original game dragons were far more involved. You had to earn coins in Magic Town to be able to buy a nest and an egg, and the only way to earn coins was through feats of magic. Once you had your egg how you interacted with it determined the colour of the dragon you'd get - either a red, yellow or purple dragon would hatch. Red had the worst temperament whilst purple was well mannered. Dragons would wander the house, play with other dragons, cats or dogs, and they could eat your garden. Dragons had Hunger, Fun and Energy needs.

    You could pet them, cuddle them and groom them to keep them happy, but they also required unique food and toys to stay well. Said food and toys were only available in Magic Town for the unique currency, so you had to keep practicing magic to earn more to buy more. You had to make an effort if you wanted a dragon. An unhappy dragon would burn your house down and set Sims on fire (and fire in the original game was lethal).

    When you groomed your dragon it would potentially drop tears or scales, both of which were rare and powerful ingredients in spells. Turning Sims into toads was dangerous because dragons saw them as a meal. Don't like your neighbour? Turn them into a toad and feed them to your dragon.

    That's all from a pack released in 2003. You'd expect more from a pack in 2019, surely?

    OHh.... turn an irritating sim into a toad and feed them to your dragon :o <--- that's my awed face. I would really want that.


    I can feed a sim to my cowplant if I lock them in a basement and don't leave the lot for a long loong time. Think they have to be eaten twice. The dragon sounds faster and much more fun.
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