btw fun fact when i was kid and all you could really see was this
I used to think Mortimer looked like Freddie Mercury (blame my dad for being Queen fan)
you can imagine my disappointment when ts2 rolled around
I like the fact that if I've always envisioned Mortimer Goth as a Freddie Mercury lookalike, I can fire up CAS and try to play up that resemblance. I can turn Johnny Zest into a David Bowie doppelganger and have them sing duets at the karaoke bar. I can make Bella look like her TS2 incarnation, keep her the way she is, or change her any way I see fit. I nearly always make Nancy Landgraab look less like she's got a hospital full of plastic surgeons in her contact list. With CAS, I can give makeovers to any Sim I see.
My current save has no premade Sims, but when I include them in my game again, I'll probably feel like overhauling the overhauls.
I have grown to like regular vanilla Sims, and grown to dislike those made with custom skins. These kinda look like the few Sims in my tray that formerly used custom skins and CAS assets, and were still in my tray as-is before I modified them. At least they aren't running around in their underwear because I deleted the custom assets as well.
Bella Goth, in my opinion, is among one of the most attractive premade Sims, but this new version--blech!!! I'll be sure to save all my favorite premade households and Sims before this retooling takes place.
Was this necessary? No. It's something anyone could do if they wanted to. It's not like the textures/models for the Sims are being replaced with something completely different--it's just a retooling with the updated CAS skin tones and such. Most people (myself included) usually tweak premade Sims (and many served as the basis for my own Sims) and/or delete a lot of them. Someone had to be paid, which means a portion of the budget that could've gone to other stuff was wasted; and it definitely took the time that could've gone to something else.
When it comes to neighborhood overhaul, I've been more interested in under the hood work only the Sims team could do, such as replacing the fake lots with real ones (all the buildings are in build/buy when the full range of hidden objects are visible) so that more can be done with them. And maybe some new lot traits to allow them to have proper functions as well. I still defend my conspiracy theory that the lots on which the decorative buildings/rabbit holes sit are coded as a type of lot, but in a way to where they are not accessible or editable.
These are an "in progress" image, not the final thing
These are also artist drawings/concept art, not actually in-game renders
Bella and the Calliente girls are without makeup so they can look at the "base design" of the face.
All of this information was 1) tweeted out about the images and 2) those tweets were reposted somewhere in the thread, so the excuse of "I don't use twitter" doesn't apply.
I mean, fine, if you don't like them, you don't like them. I don't play with premades, and the "flagship" sims and their lives mean zero to me and my gameplay, so whatever they do with them... I don't care.
But is it too much to ask people to temper their criticisms based on what these actually are, rather than what they assume them to be because they can't be bothered to read?
If these are early inwork concepts I feel it's unwise to be showing them to us.
We'll be forming strong opinions, mostly negative, based on work that is not intended to be even close to the final version. There's a risk of turning people against the project based on incorrect assumptions.
I don't use Discord because it doesn't support multiple accounts and I don't need folks at work wondering what I'm doing even on my own time. Until Discord catches up with every single other voice / video conferencing system, I limit where I use it:
If these are early inwork concepts I feel it's unwise to be showing them to us.
We'll be forming strong opinions, mostly negative, based on work that is not intended to be even close to the final version. There's a risk of turning people against the project based on incorrect assumptions.
People need to decide... do they want progress updates on the townie overhaul, or do they want radio silence with the only input coming from select EA Content Creators (formerly Game Changers)?
If these are early inwork concepts I feel it's unwise to be showing them to us.
We'll be forming strong opinions, mostly negative, based on work that is not intended to be even close to the final version. There's a risk of turning people against the project based on incorrect assumptions.
People need to decide... do they want progress updates on the townie overhaul, or do they want radio silence with the only input coming from select EA Content Creators (formerly Game Changers)?
Personally, I'll take updates.
Personally I’ll take both. I don’t see why it has to be one or the other. News get leaked anyway. 🤷🏼♂️.
If these are early inwork concepts I feel it's unwise to be showing them to us.
We'll be forming strong opinions, mostly negative, based on work that is not intended to be even close to the final version. There's a risk of turning people against the project based on incorrect assumptions.
People need to decide... do they want progress updates on the townie overhaul, or do they want radio silence with the only input coming from select EA Content Creators (formerly Game Changers)?
Personally, I'll take updates.
I will take updates too. There are plenty of other game developers out there who are not interacting with their community beyond official press releases. Maxis are actually sharing what they are doing and are being honest.
I don't agree on everything they make, but I do appreciate their updates.
Not a huge fan of the concepts, they honestly look too realistic to me for a cartoony/realistic looking game. I get that they want to make the NPCs look like their race, but you kind of lose them as characters as well. I liked how they looked in the limited graphics in Sims 2, and they don't look bad in Sims 4. If anything, they need to do minor things, and change that blonde hair.
I tend to ignore the NPCs, and sometimes if my own Sims like an NPC is when I interact with them. If they did this to "improve" the NPCs, I am giving them makeovers, or deleting them.
I actually liked Morty As coming from Sims 2 , I always make him look older anyway
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
These are an "in progress" image, not the final thing
These are also artist drawings/concept art, not actually in-game renders
Bella and the Calliente girls are without makeup so they can look at the "base design" of the face.
All of this information was 1) tweeted out about the images and 2) those tweets were reposted somewhere in the thread, so the excuse of "I don't use twitter" doesn't apply.
I mean, fine, if you don't like them, you don't like them. I don't play with premades, and the "flagship" sims and their lives mean zero to me and my gameplay, so whatever they do with them... I don't care.
But is it too much to ask people to temper their criticisms based on what these actually are, rather than what they assume them to be because they can't be bothered to read?
BTW I did bother read, I knew since before I posted my first comment on this thread that they weren't the final products, but I'm still going to criticise them regardless, if no one criticises them, then we'll end up with garbage finished productsand personally I want the final product to be well done, so I don't have to complain about it afterwards, I have high hopes for the Devs, I'm being hard on them because I know that they can do better, there potential for this overhaul to be good.
Concept Art is usually temporary anyways, but I have to admit the Mortimer Concept Art is pretty good, I really like the hair overhaul in that pic even to the point of thinking about applying it to my custom sims.
I'm excited for these! Like others have said, I think that the skin tones could be a bit warmer, but since its just concept art I'm not holding that against them. I think it's a step in the right direction, at least. And Mortimer and Nina look really good! Mortimer's face looks a little less dough-y. I'm actually hoping this means we could get some new skin details for aging adult sims, since I've never really been a fan of my sims going from looking 35 to 75 on their birthdays.
[quote="babajayne;c-18012982"]Is it purely an aesthetic townie overhaul? I was thinking/hoping there would be more depth added in the form of outside relationships, sentiments, and preferences. [/quote]
The video Plumbella made about this topic kinda implied that they are going to keep the "alternate universe" shenanigans... which... to me and many other simmers is a HUGE problem with Sims 4. Why? Just why? And why only Pleasantvirw premades can return, why I can't see premades from Bluewater Village or Roaring Heights sometimes?! All of them deserve a chance to shine, there's no reason to create so many random characters. I mean, I love the Pancakes, but its not always that a nee set of characters are going to be iconic like them, Judith Ward or Vladislaus. I wish the majority of premade sims in each world would be remade from other games and the new ones be thought out really wisely to fit. Maybe the main characters for each pack (which usually become more iconic in-game) like Knox, Nalani, Vlad, etc etc, and probably because the teaser for those packs kinda build a lore that the game could never (even Sims 1, 2 and 3 couldn't add so much depht to lore as a trailer usually can, and I never understood why the devs never used this to their advantages when it comes to premades being made into a selling point)?!
I think it's a great idea that they are sharing the concepts so that they can perhaps take note of player feedback before making their adjustments.
Personally, I'm not too bothered what they do and which sims they include in the game. If I don't like them I'll edit or delete them, if there are sims I want from previous versions which are not added then I make them myself.
And people wonder why so many players feel Sims4 is a shallow game? Well, this kinda answers that question. Just something else to look at rather than adding anything we have asked for...such as a meaningful attraction system, Sims knowing all their relatives, freed babies, and just better gameplay in general. So, the excuses about the whole working from home because of COVID is keeping the teams from creating new packs are unacceptable right now. And if kits and massive updates are the only things we have to look forward to, I will be playing off line for a very, very long time. EA/Maxis must not want my business is all I can say at this point. Kits and updates do not take the place of new packs in my world.
When I do play the game, I do it offline. I delete the NPC sims and bulldoze every residential lot in Willow Creek and Oasis Springs. I choose only a couple packs at a time in my game. One world to live in and one to vacation in. I consistently check and delete other households that get created by the game. I made several elder sims and use them for other households that do not live in any world. With npcc I can assign them jobs. I had no interest in the concert that was offered for free for a week, I did not take advantage of any of the free trials, did not and will not purchase the extra objects packs. Maxis must be trying to generate funds. There are still too many bugs left over from the addition of Country Living. Even TSR website must be having problems keeping VIP's as they are offering deals. I will pay people who create mods and cc to keep their creations updated for use in my game. I can build a pool, but if I want a diving board I have to purchase another pack to get it. Want a rocking chair? You have to purchase another pack to get one. I do check the forum from time to time to see if there is an update and whether or not I want to download it. Have yet to see that the errands for Country Living have been fixed. But I guess Maxis is too busy creating more unnecessary things(at least for me) to bother with the fixes.
May I ask why? Why are they doing this? Why is it necessary? If they wanted to revamp the townies (NPCs to me are non playable characters) why didn't they do the revamps when they 'rebranded' a few years ago. I don't get the 'why' for this. Do they not have enough to do with trying to free babies, add werewolves, animations, interactions, chemistry/attraction system, cars, swimmable waters, world editor, more trait slots, memories, cuddle/spooning, spiral staircases, paint ceilings, etc.
I mean the lists are longer than from here to California. Do they need to prove they can shape Sims better than players? People already made true to form Bella, Mortimer etc. back in 2014 and shared them on the gallery, and they looked more like the older characters we all knew, much better than what we got in the base game. It's like shutting the barn door after the horses are out. What's wrong Maxis, not enough people lately squealing over white shelves?
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
And people wonder why so many players feel Sims4 is a shallow game? Well, this kinda answers that question. Just something else to look at rather than adding anything we have asked for...such as a meaningful attraction system, Sims knowing all their relatives, freed babies, and just better gameplay in general. So, the excuses about the whole working from home because of COVID is keeping the teams from creating new packs are unacceptable right now. And if kits and massive updates are the only things we have to look forward to, I will be playing off line for a very, very long time. EA/Maxis must not want my business is all I can say at this point. Kits and updates do not take the place of new packs in my world.
Same here, a bunch of small updates being released over 7 more years followed by more niche kits is not really something I'm looking forward to. We might end up getting those things you listed...in 2028.
I am not a fan of them dragging out this generation of sims. People are getting older, communities are changing or leaving, modders are quitting, content creators are bored and exhausted, and people seem overall less happy.
And people wonder why so many players feel Sims4 is a shallow game? Well, this kinda answers that question. Just something else to look at rather than adding anything we have asked for...such as a meaningful attraction system, Sims knowing all their relatives, freed babies, and just better gameplay in general. So, the excuses about the whole working from home because of COVID is keeping the teams from creating new packs are unacceptable right now. And if kits and massive updates are the only things we have to look forward to, I will be playing off line for a very, very long time. EA/Maxis must not want my business is all I can say at this point. Kits and updates do not take the place of new packs in my world.
Same here, a bunch of small updates being released over 7 more years followed by more niche kits is not really something I'm looking forward to. We might end up getting those things you listed...in 2028.
I am not a fan of them dragging out this generation of sims. People are getting older, communities are changing or leaving, modders are quitting, content creators are bored and exhausted, and people seem overall less happy.
BTW aren't free babies in the same category as small updates and kits, while I get that people want them, they're not going to impact the overall game.
And people wonder why so many players feel Sims4 is a shallow game? Well, this kinda answers that question. Just something else to look at rather than adding anything we have asked for...such as a meaningful attraction system, Sims knowing all their relatives, freed babies, and just better gameplay in general. So, the excuses about the whole working from home because of COVID is keeping the teams from creating new packs are unacceptable right now. And if kits and massive updates are the only things we have to look forward to, I will be playing off line for a very, very long time. EA/Maxis must not want my business is all I can say at this point. Kits and updates do not take the place of new packs in my world.
Same here, a bunch of small updates being released over 7 more years followed by more niche kits is not really something I'm looking forward to. We might end up getting those things you listed...in 2028.
I am not a fan of them dragging out this generation of sims. People are getting older, communities are changing or leaving, modders are quitting, content creators are bored and exhausted, and people seem overall less happy.
BTW aren't free babies in the same category as small updates and kits, while I get that people want them, they're not going to impact the overall game.
I'm no programmer, but I'm assuming that freed babies would require them to remove the existing ones and replace them with moving babies, which doesn't sound like an easy thing to do so I am guessing that if they would do it, then it would come in a larger update.
If they're going to update the skintones for the Calientes, they need to give Dina her old hair color back. The cheese hair with the darker skintone will clash and look ugly.
Honestly, I think concept art!Mortimer is really solid? Not as old as Sims 2 but more older and looks like Gomez Addams which is a plus. For Bella, I think the only thing she really needs is to be set to adult instead of YA and her waist expanded so she has a rib cage. Maybe a swatch or two darker on the skintone scale (can't remember how she dark she was in Sims 2) but ultimately she's good. Just needs to be an adult. Of the goth family, I think Cassandra is the biggest one needed for a overhaul.
Now, for folks asking "why" there are probably a few reasons, but the biggest one I can think of is that for years people have complained about the whitewashing of certain premades from the series that were in Sims 4. Calientes being one of the biggest ones for sure. It is incredibly late for them to suddenly want to fix that NOW but w/e.
My only complaint is that if they decide to overhaul the Calientes, that's fine, but DON'T get rid of Katrina. I know not everyone was crazy about her addition but she was one of my favorites and I just like to headcanon that she's Ni*hat with a name change (since you can't actually use that name in-game which is DUMB). I can 100% understand wanting the old Caliente twins back (and hopefully old Don Lothario) but I do hope they still keep Katrina.
EDIT: lol can't even spell her name even on here. I understand why it's a concern (the first three letters of the name) but it's still dumb.
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I used to think Mortimer looked like Freddie Mercury (blame my dad for being Queen fan)
you can imagine my disappointment when ts2 rolled around
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I like the fact that if I've always envisioned Mortimer Goth as a Freddie Mercury lookalike, I can fire up CAS and try to play up that resemblance. I can turn Johnny Zest into a David Bowie doppelganger and have them sing duets at the karaoke bar. I can make Bella look like her TS2 incarnation, keep her the way she is, or change her any way I see fit. I nearly always make Nancy Landgraab look less like she's got a hospital full of plastic surgeons in her contact list. With CAS, I can give makeovers to any Sim I see.
My current save has no premade Sims, but when I include them in my game again, I'll probably feel like overhauling the overhauls.
Exie hay, cavero, mabza meeah vendarzo.
Yevsas mairzeemo!
Bella Goth, in my opinion, is among one of the most attractive premade Sims, but this new version--blech!!! I'll be sure to save all my favorite premade households and Sims before this retooling takes place.
Was this necessary? No. It's something anyone could do if they wanted to. It's not like the textures/models for the Sims are being replaced with something completely different--it's just a retooling with the updated CAS skin tones and such. Most people (myself included) usually tweak premade Sims (and many served as the basis for my own Sims) and/or delete a lot of them. Someone had to be paid, which means a portion of the budget that could've gone to other stuff was wasted; and it definitely took the time that could've gone to something else.
When it comes to neighborhood overhaul, I've been more interested in under the hood work only the Sims team could do, such as replacing the fake lots with real ones (all the buildings are in build/buy when the full range of hidden objects are visible) so that more can be done with them. And maybe some new lot traits to allow them to have proper functions as well. I still defend my conspiracy theory that the lots on which the decorative buildings/rabbit holes sit are coded as a type of lot, but in a way to where they are not accessible or editable.
Exactly her whole thing is being hot, take that away and she's no longer Bella Goth, she would be just a sim that's getting deleted on the spot.
These are an "in progress" image, not the final thing
These are also artist drawings/concept art, not actually in-game renders
Bella and the Calliente girls are without makeup so they can look at the "base design" of the face.
All of this information was 1) tweeted out about the images and 2) those tweets were reposted somewhere in the thread, so the excuse of "I don't use twitter" doesn't apply.
I mean, fine, if you don't like them, you don't like them. I don't play with premades, and the "flagship" sims and their lives mean zero to me and my gameplay, so whatever they do with them... I don't care.
But is it too much to ask people to temper their criticisms based on what these actually are, rather than what they assume them to be because they can't be bothered to read?
If these are early inwork concepts I feel it's unwise to be showing them to us.
We'll be forming strong opinions, mostly negative, based on work that is not intended to be even close to the final version. There's a risk of turning people against the project based on incorrect assumptions.
People need to decide... do they want progress updates on the townie overhaul, or do they want radio silence with the only input coming from select EA Content Creators (formerly Game Changers)?
Personally, I'll take updates.
I will take updates too. There are plenty of other game developers out there who are not interacting with their community beyond official press releases. Maxis are actually sharing what they are doing and are being honest.
I don't agree on everything they make, but I do appreciate their updates.
Note: I didn't like the first one I looked at (Mortimer), but there are usually many, many concepts before something is decided on. Not worried here.
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I tend to ignore the NPCs, and sometimes if my own Sims like an NPC is when I interact with them. If they did this to "improve" the NPCs, I am giving them makeovers, or deleting them.
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
BTW I did bother read, I knew since before I posted my first comment on this thread that they weren't the final products, but I'm still going to criticise them regardless, if no one criticises them, then we'll end up with garbage finished productsand personally I want the final product to be well done, so I don't have to complain about it afterwards, I have high hopes for the Devs, I'm being hard on them because I know that they can do better, there potential for this overhaul to be good.
The video Plumbella made about this topic kinda implied that they are going to keep the "alternate universe" shenanigans... which... to me and many other simmers is a HUGE problem with Sims 4. Why? Just why? And why only Pleasantvirw premades can return, why I can't see premades from Bluewater Village or Roaring Heights sometimes?! All of them deserve a chance to shine, there's no reason to create so many random characters. I mean, I love the Pancakes, but its not always that a nee set of characters are going to be iconic like them, Judith Ward or Vladislaus. I wish the majority of premade sims in each world would be remade from other games and the new ones be thought out really wisely to fit. Maybe the main characters for each pack (which usually become more iconic in-game) like Knox, Nalani, Vlad, etc etc, and probably because the teaser for those packs kinda build a lore that the game could never (even Sims 1, 2 and 3 couldn't add so much depht to lore as a trailer usually can, and I never understood why the devs never used this to their advantages when it comes to premades being made into a selling point)?!
Personally, I'm not too bothered what they do and which sims they include in the game. If I don't like them I'll edit or delete them, if there are sims I want from previous versions which are not added then I make them myself.
I mean the lists are longer than from here to California. Do they need to prove they can shape Sims better than players? People already made true to form Bella, Mortimer etc. back in 2014 and shared them on the gallery, and they looked more like the older characters we all knew, much better than what we got in the base game. It's like shutting the barn door after the horses are out. What's wrong Maxis, not enough people lately squealing over white shelves?
Same here, a bunch of small updates being released over 7 more years followed by more niche kits is not really something I'm looking forward to. We might end up getting those things you listed...in 2028.
I am not a fan of them dragging out this generation of sims. People are getting older, communities are changing or leaving, modders are quitting, content creators are bored and exhausted, and people seem overall less happy.
BTW aren't free babies in the same category as small updates and kits, while I get that people want them, they're not going to impact the overall game.
I'm no programmer, but I'm assuming that freed babies would require them to remove the existing ones and replace them with moving babies, which doesn't sound like an easy thing to do so I am guessing that if they would do it, then it would come in a larger update.
Honestly, I think concept art!Mortimer is really solid? Not as old as Sims 2 but more older and looks like Gomez Addams which is a plus. For Bella, I think the only thing she really needs is to be set to adult instead of YA and her waist expanded so she has a rib cage. Maybe a swatch or two darker on the skintone scale (can't remember how she dark she was in Sims 2) but ultimately she's good. Just needs to be an adult. Of the goth family, I think Cassandra is the biggest one needed for a overhaul.
Now, for folks asking "why" there are probably a few reasons, but the biggest one I can think of is that for years people have complained about the whitewashing of certain premades from the series that were in Sims 4. Calientes being one of the biggest ones for sure. It is incredibly late for them to suddenly want to fix that NOW but w/e.
My only complaint is that if they decide to overhaul the Calientes, that's fine, but DON'T get rid of Katrina. I know not everyone was crazy about her addition but she was one of my favorites and I just like to headcanon that she's Ni*hat with a name change (since you can't actually use that name in-game which is DUMB). I can 100% understand wanting the old Caliente twins back (and hopefully old Don Lothario) but I do hope they still keep Katrina.
EDIT: lol can't even spell her name even on here. I understand why it's a concern (the first three letters of the name) but it's still dumb.