I mentioned before that Sims1, Sims2 and Sims3 all had EP releases by 6 months of the base game release.
It is now 4 1/2 months since base game release and not even an announcement of an EP has been made.
Just the release of a glorified stuff pack they now call a game pack.
I find it odd nothing has been announced...unless there will not be EPs and EA plans on sticking with overpriced 'game packs'?
Anddd you won't hear nothing til the week it's released. Don't cha kno? It's in some super secret rule, no talking about future things, things change.
Nothing to see. I don't even care about the forums.
I hope they can find someone with a Will Wright brain, someone that knows what the sims is about.
Honestly, there is one SimGuru left who worked on the Sims 1 if I am not mistaken. That SimGuru is the only one we have left that knows what the Sims is about.
That would be Lyndsay, and no she has already confessed to not really knowing anymore.....that won't work.
See EA! This is what happens when you forget the thick and very solid line between PC and facebook. You end up with Sims 4 Olympus.
Or forget to draw the line between PC and Tablet...which this obviously looks designed for.
CAS defaintly feels like touchscreen. Maybe I'm the odd one out but I prefer the sliders to a wonky camera jumping around and when you miss-click they end up with Nicki Minaj's butt
Yes sliders gave more precise control. You didn't have to worry about what part you are grabbing to tug.
In Sims 3, modders were able to modify the sliders by giving them a numerical value. That made more precise molding to me. I wish there were numerical modifiers in Sims 4.
Nothing to see. I don't even care about the forums.
I think it's safe to say despite whatever issues simmers have had with TS3, it was overall a great generation for TS. Some might think it's not the best out of all four but it comes to a close second.
This article intrigued me by questioning the motives behind the free trail of the game. This is all just speculation at the end but intriguing none the less.
As much as EA Games and their subsidiary, Maxis, are trying to do damage control for The Sims 4, the fact is that fans have been increasingly disillusioned with the lack of content available at launch, going so far as to compile lists of features available in previous games, but missing from The Sims 4. The biggest missing feature so far is the tiny toddler life stage.
The trial offer and the recent announcement that Maxis is searching for a new Creative Director may mean that EA Games is finally ready to admit that The Sims 4 is as big of a disappointment as some fans have said.
What do you think? Is EA giving up on Sims 4? Is the trail a last attempt to gain an audience for the game? Sims 4 has yet to have a expansion pack announcement and we are closing in on 5 months after release.
No flaming, please. Let's have a civilized discussion
I think it is a good move for TS4. There is much discussion on whether this is a good game or a failure; providing a free trial will give each consumer the opportunity to test it for themselves. No need to listen the "sides" arguing, just log in, download, and form your own opinion. After you try it, come back here and tell us how you feel. (Then if someone says you cannot speak against it because you didn't purchase it, well, you played it for 48 hours which is the same as purchasing it.)
Further more, I believe the search for a new Creative Director does not mean that the old one was fired or not functional. It could be that the old Creative Director moved to a position in one of the newly created design studios for portable games. Better to not speculate too much into what might be happening in the background and watch what is happening straight before you. Just my thoughts.
Originally Posted by Mondenkind
How can that be years of work? Do they start developing the Pet Expansion as soon as the base game is out?
Graham's post:
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
My question is do they think we are worth it? Hmm.
Nothing to see. I don't even care about the forums.
I'm kind of torn on this... personally, I really enjoy sims 4, I think they had some good ideas that they just... really really fell short on, for whatever reason. Yet... if they scrapped it they could get to work and actually make a brilliant game, so... I kind of like that idea... because as much as I enjoy sims 4 there are a lot of blaring issues with it ( I love the emotions but by God do they change at a drop of a hat!! Even the emoticons in sims 3 and the feelings in sims 2 lasted longer than these! As much as I like my sims being happy I actually do want to play with the sad and angry emotions)
But if they dropped Sims 4 there'd probably be no expansion packs... I would be playing a pretty bare game until the new game came out... and I don't like that idea because I do want to see what can come of this game. @_@ Maybe if they did decide to just start from scratch they could have a separate team to make some free patches for sims 4 just so those of us who do like the game can have a little something, patches and game packs If they can't do full on ep packs
I dunno, I'm just very very conflicted here XD
Keep calm and sim on friend-os!
**Icon image is of my character, drawn for my by fellow artist ^^ I always play out him and his gal's story in the sims, going to be exciting to bring it to the sims 4!**
I'm kind of torn on this... personally, I really enjoy sims 4, I think they had some good ideas that they just... really really fell short on, for whatever reason. Yet... if they scrapped it they could get to work and actually make a brilliant game, so... I kind of like that idea... because as much as I enjoy sims 4 there are a lot of blaring issues with it ( I love the emotions but by God do they change at a drop of a hat!! Even the emoticons in sims 3 and the feelings in sims 2 lasted longer than these! As much as I like my sims being happy I actually do want to play with the sad and angry emotions)
But if they dropped Sims 4 there'd probably be no expansion packs... I would be playing a pretty bare game until the new game came out... and I don't like that idea because I do want to see what can come of this game. @_@ Maybe if they did decide to just start from scratch they could have a separate team to make some free patches for sims 4 just so those of us who do like the game can have a little something, patches and game packs If they can't do full on ep packs
I dunno, I'm just very very conflicted here XD
EA has put everyone in a ridiculous position with this mess. Believe me, you aren't alone.
“I was so sure that I knew what they needed and what I wanted to sell them that I never stopped long enough to find out what it was they wanted to buy.”
― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
Dear dear, what a joke. While that might work if you are not into game development/programming, this is simply a slap across the face and trying to lie his way through. Now I'm not saying that it isn't resource-demanding to implement the framework for routing animals which have different dimensions and behave differently in the same environment, but what are we talking about here? For example, implementing a bear like it was shown on the sneak peaks before OR was released, or more like a comedy representation of a bear in the light-hearted twist that the Sims usually applies, that wouldn't have taken nor even months. If they wanted to make a bear that actually behaves and walks like a real bear, and isn't an NPC whose routing consists of roaming the forest, then sure, it'd be harder. But why would they? It's supposed to be a Game Pack, not an Expansion Pack anyways, it'd have been a nice little touch, or perhaps a throwback to Claire the Bear which wouldn't have any of the implied routing difficulties given it routes as any other sim. There are so many things wrong with that post but why bother.
I've also seen many of the other posts Grant has made over at MTS., specially regarding cut out features and mechanics. I fear and pity the future of the franchise knowing it rests on them. I've seen so many small 4-6 man development teams with limited budgets produce such amazing, complex, resource-demanding that rival and best many AAA titles that it's just ridiculous. The fact that this is what we get from a franchise that has been going for 14 years getting top notch sales from a fairly established publisher that can more than easily fund it and which has plenty of feedback is pitiful.
May I also ask why are such posts not being made in the official forums? Specially when there are several questions and concerns about it.
Edit: Fixed because quoting is messing up that post
It will be interesting to see the new people who are trying out the game for the first time have to say. I bought the premium edition because I felt I had to give it a fair chance since I have enjoyed this game for 15 years. I don't regret that I bought it and tried it, but I do regret that it does not hold my attention like the past Sims games have.
I'm not sure if you read kotaku's article discussing richard hillemans new objectiver for EA. I think a lot of people might want to go back and read what he has to say about cross platforming their titles with the mobile market. Than we can better grasp what is going on with sims 4.
while i do agree that many things do take more than just a year to make, a bear living in the woods mesh and all and a few interactions please i highly doubt over a year. They're triple AAA titles can accomplish that in very short of a time, let alone any other dev out there can do the same. Hell LOL makes a character with in the span of a month which promote more depth and animation than a bear would.
I just am not happy about the level excuses being pumped out at customers to not provide quality work or innovative experience.
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
Dear dear, what a joke. While that might work if you are not into game development/programming, this is simply a slap across the face and trying to lie his way through. Now I'm not saying that it isn't resource-demanding to implement the framework for routing animals which have different dimensions and behave differently in the same environment, but what are we talking about here? For example, implementing a bear like it was shown on the sneak peaks before OR was released, or more like a comedy representation of a bear in the light-hearted twist that the Sims usually applies, that wouldn't have taken nor even months. If they wanted to make a bear that actually behaves and walks like a real bear, and isn't an NPC whose routing consists of roaming the forest, then sure, it'd be harder. But why would they? It's supposed to be a Game Pack, not an Expansion Pack anyways, it'd have been a nice little touch, or perhaps a throwback to Claire the Bear which wouldn't have any of the implied routing difficulties given it routes as any other sim. There are so many things wrong with that post but why bother.
I've also seen many of the other posts Grant has made over at MTS., specially regarding cut out features and mechanics. I fear and pity the future of the franchise knowing it rests on them. I've seen so many small 4-6 man development teams with limited budgets produce such amazing, complex, resource-demanding that rival and best many AAA titles that it's just ridiculous. The fact that this is what we get from a franchise that has been going for 14 years getting top notch sales from a fairly established publisher that can more than easily fund it and which has plenty of feedback is pitiful.
Edit: Fixed because quoting is messing up that post
Ea does love their obfuscation and prevarication.
“I was so sure that I knew what they needed and what I wanted to sell them that I never stopped long enough to find out what it was they wanted to buy.”
― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
Dear dear, what a joke. While that might work if you are not into game development/programming, this is simply a slap across the face and trying to lie his way through. Now I'm not saying that it isn't resource-demanding to implement the framework for routing animals which have different dimensions and behave differently in the same environment, but what are we talking about here? For example, implementing a bear like it was shown on the sneak peaks before OR was released, or more like a comedy representation of a bear in the light-hearted twist that the Sims usually applies, that wouldn't have taken nor even months. If they wanted to make a bear that actually behaves and walks like a real bear, and isn't an NPC whose routing consists of roaming the forest, then sure, it'd be harder. But why would they? It's supposed to be a Game Pack, not an Expansion Pack anyways, it'd have been a nice little touch, or perhaps a throwback to Claire the Bear which wouldn't have any of the implied routing difficulties given it routes as any other sim. There are so many things wrong with that post but why bother.
I've also seen many of the other posts Grant has made over at MTS., specially regarding cut out features and mechanics. I fear and pity the future of the franchise knowing it rests on them. I've seen so many small 4-6 man development teams with limited budgets produce such amazing, complex, resource-demanding that rival and best many AAA titles that it's just ridiculous. The fact that this is what we get from a franchise that has been going for 14 years getting top notch sales from a fairly established publisher that can more than easily fund it and which has plenty of feedback is pitiful.
May I also ask why are such posts not being made in the official forums? Specially when there are several questions and concerns about it.
Edit: Fixed because quoting is messing up that post
I also forgot to include in my post that it's really a pitiful situation that a team with company backing can't outdo an animator working with Sims 3 technology and games assets to create a bear with new behaviors. Or a Sims 2 creator and animator making the chicken coop available for that game. Not getting paid money, just the joy and admiration of the simmers that follow them. Amazing!
Nothing to see. I don't even care about the forums.
I will admit I want a lot more but I have faith EA/Maxis will add tons thru gamepacks,expansions and maybe stuff packs. Remember the first ep isn't out yet.
I also love your positive attitude as I share the same thoughts with you. I love the game too but it is very obvious that A LOT of people are not happy. However, I feel that the developers can turn this around and add many of the things that people are vocal about. I just hope EA isn't dumb enough to not financially support what needs to happen to turn this all around. I don't understand why such a money-making franchise would have what seems to be a low budget? That makes no sense to me. In the meantime I will continue to be optimistic about the future content of Sims 4.
I will admit I want a lot more but I have faith EA/Maxis will add tons thru gamepacks,expansions and maybe stuff packs. Remember the first ep isn't out yet.
I also love your positive attitude as I share the same thoughts with you. I love the game too but it is very obvious that A LOT of people are not happy. However, I feel that the developers can turn this around and add many of the things that people are vocal about. I just hope EA isn't dumb enough to not financially support what needs to happen to turn this all around. I don't understand why such a money-making franchise would have what seems to be a low budget? That makes no sense to me. In the meantime I will continue to be optimistic about the future content of Sims 4.
I really, really hope you are right. Those of us that are unhappy are really tired of being, well, unhappy. We want a game everyone can enjoy.
“I was so sure that I knew what they needed and what I wanted to sell them that I never stopped long enough to find out what it was they wanted to buy.”
― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
Dear dear, what a joke. While that might work if you are not into game development/programming, this is simply a slap across the face and trying to lie his way through. Now I'm not saying that it isn't resource-demanding to implement the framework for routing animals which have different dimensions and behave differently in the same environment, but what are we talking about here? For example, implementing a bear like it was shown on the sneak peaks before OR was released, or more like a comedy representation of a bear in the light-hearted twist that the Sims usually applies, that wouldn't have taken nor even months. If they wanted to make a bear that actually behaves and walks like a real bear, and isn't an NPC whose routing consists of roaming the forest, then sure, it'd be harder. But why would they? It's supposed to be a Game Pack, not an Expansion Pack anyways, it'd have been a nice little touch, or perhaps a throwback to Claire the Bear which wouldn't have any of the implied routing difficulties given it routes as any other sim. There are so many things wrong with that post but why bother.
I've also seen many of the other posts Grant has made over at MTS., specially regarding cut out features and mechanics. I fear and pity the future of the franchise knowing it rests on them. I've seen so many small 4-6 man development teams with limited budgets produce such amazing, complex, resource-demanding that rival and best many AAA titles that it's just ridiculous. The fact that this is what we get from a franchise that has been going for 14 years getting top notch sales from a fairly established publisher that can more than easily fund it and which has plenty of feedback is pitiful.
May I also ask why are such posts not being made in the official forums? Specially when there are several questions and concerns about it.
Edit: Fixed because quoting is messing up that post
I so agree with all of this, specially the sentence I highlighted. Because if you go to Steam you could see so many indie games with very complex graphics and animals and they aren't even as successful as EA or had games before it that could pay for the next installment like sims 4 has. An example of an indie game I played that has animals and got good graphics is Rust. And it was created by a small development team. I'm sure there are even better examples of indie games that can prove how wrong they are.
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
Dear dear, what a joke. While that might work if you are not into game development/programming, this is simply a slap across the face and trying to lie his way through. Now I'm not saying that it isn't resource-demanding to implement the framework for routing animals which have different dimensions and behave differently in the same environment, but what are we talking about here? For example, implementing a bear like it was shown on the sneak peaks before OR was released, or more like a comedy representation of a bear in the light-hearted twist that the Sims usually applies, that wouldn't have taken nor even months. If they wanted to make a bear that actually behaves and walks like a real bear, and isn't an NPC whose routing consists of roaming the forest, then sure, it'd be harder. But why would they? It's supposed to be a Game Pack, not an Expansion Pack anyways, it'd have been a nice little touch, or perhaps a throwback to Claire the Bear which wouldn't have any of the implied routing difficulties given it routes as any other sim. There are so many things wrong with that post but why bother.
I've also seen many of the other posts Grant has made over at MTS., specially regarding cut out features and mechanics. I fear and pity the future of the franchise knowing it rests on them. I've seen so many small 4-6 man development teams with limited budgets produce such amazing, complex, resource-demanding that rival and best many AAA titles that it's just ridiculous. The fact that this is what we get from a franchise that has been going for 14 years getting top notch sales from a fairly established publisher that can more than easily fund it and which has plenty of feedback is pitiful.
May I also ask why are such posts not being made in the official forums? Specially when there are several questions and concerns about it.
Edit: Fixed because quoting is messing up that post
I so agree with all of this, specially the sentence I highlighted. Because if you go to Steam you could see so many indie games with very complex graphics and animals and they aren't even as successful as EA or had games before it that could pay for the next installment like sims 4 has. An example of an indie game I played that has animals and got good graphics is Rust. And it was created by a small development team. I'm sure there are even better examples of indie games that can prove how wrong they are.
Sandbox is a genre that I absolutely love. One example which is now a bit old given it's been a bit over a year, the release of Space Engineers in Early Access state with their own proprietary engine (which takes even the most experienced and resourceful team years of work) to boot with I believe a team of about 6-7 indie developers at the beginning. A volumetric engine that takes into account every single voxel and structure, and within a year they have; made the universe procedural generated and virtually infinite, added in-game programming capabilities allowing you to literally create your own A.I. and robots in-game and logical/intelligent structures, logistics, complex physics calculations, sensors that detect several data from their environment, among several other additions that wipe the floor in terms of complexity and difficulty to implement with anything The Sims has ever done. May I add that the game spent 7 months only in development before it was released and have been very involved in the official forums with WEEKLY updates ever since launch and transparent video interviews and several community Q&As?
Here's a nice example of automated intelligent machinery before in-game programming was even added made by a single player(from 0:00 to 2:00, the rest is the explanation of the setup): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pexH_b4dEvQ
And yes, by all standards that example is miles ahead in terms of complexity and depth than The Sims has ever been, and the difficulty of creating a volumetric proprietary engine from the ground up with proper physics and programming/A.I. possibilities along with fully voxel-style maps is worlds ahead of any aspect of the simulation and calculations that happen in The Sims. The talent, the passion, the dedication, the respect, all of which is missing here. And they have the audacity to say such things? Fantastic, can't wait to see The Sims 5 be in 2D because a 3D environment is "too hard".
Comments
In Sims 3, modders were able to modify the sliders by giving them a numerical value. That made more precise molding to me. I wish there were numerical modifiers in Sims 4.
I think it is a good move for TS4. There is much discussion on whether this is a good game or a failure; providing a free trial will give each consumer the opportunity to test it for themselves. No need to listen the "sides" arguing, just log in, download, and form your own opinion. After you try it, come back here and tell us how you feel. (Then if someone says you cannot speak against it because you didn't purchase it, well, you played it for 48 hours which is the same as purchasing it.)
Further more, I believe the search for a new Creative Director does not mean that the old one was fired or not functional. It could be that the old Creative Director moved to a position in one of the newly created design studios for portable games. Better to not speculate too much into what might be happening in the background and watch what is happening straight before you. Just my thoughts.
http://linna.modthesims.info/showpost.php?p=4658349&postcount=15
But if they dropped Sims 4 there'd probably be no expansion packs... I would be playing a pretty bare game until the new game came out... and I don't like that idea because I do want to see what can come of this game. @_@ Maybe if they did decide to just start from scratch they could have a separate team to make some free patches for sims 4 just so those of us who do like the game can have a little something, patches and game packs If they can't do full on ep packs
I dunno, I'm just very very conflicted here XD
**Icon image is of my character, drawn for my by fellow artist ^^ I always play out him and his gal's story in the sims, going to be exciting to bring it to the sims 4!**
EA has put everyone in a ridiculous position with this mess. Believe me, you aren't alone.
― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club
Not that I particularly want to wade into this discussion, but that's precisely what has happened previously. A separate team split off and started working on the underlying tech of Pets on Sims 3 as soon as the base game was finished. It was ready to move into full production in time to be the fifth expansion. Of course you could throw more people at it to develop it faster, but that comes with its own problems as well. Once you've done the work to implement one animal, additional animals are much easier to add as they're iterating on existing tech. Essentially, you don't implement dogs and then reinvent the wheel to figure out how to implement cats... but whichever one comes first is going to require a large investment of time and resources.
Four legged routing is completely different than two legged routing, and it's especially challenging when creating an animal that takes up more square footage when routing around than a Sim does. Think about this for example... a Sim never routes backwards, they just turn around in place then walk forwards. A horse in a hallway can't turn around in that hallway because their bodies have a longer length than width. It requires coding an entirely different approach to some fundamental systems in the game. Particularly in a game like the Sims where's there's practically no limit to the ways that you can build a lot that the characters then need to move around in and interact with other characters/objects in; it's no small undertaking.
Players often misconstrue comments about time or difficulty incorrectly, and to be perfectly fair many developers do a poor job of explaining it. When you look at it from the perspective of a schedule and a budget though... it rarely says anything about the talent level or the work ethic of the developers, it's about setting an appropriate scope for the project that delivers value for your money. Personally I'm very pleased with what we're offering in Outdoor Retreat at a similar cost to players as Sims 3 Stuff Packs.
Dear dear, what a joke. While that might work if you are not into game development/programming, this is simply a slap across the face and trying to lie his way through. Now I'm not saying that it isn't resource-demanding to implement the framework for routing animals which have different dimensions and behave differently in the same environment, but what are we talking about here? For example, implementing a bear like it was shown on the sneak peaks before OR was released, or more like a comedy representation of a bear in the light-hearted twist that the Sims usually applies, that wouldn't have taken nor even months. If they wanted to make a bear that actually behaves and walks like a real bear, and isn't an NPC whose routing consists of roaming the forest, then sure, it'd be harder. But why would they? It's supposed to be a Game Pack, not an Expansion Pack anyways, it'd have been a nice little touch, or perhaps a throwback to Claire the Bear which wouldn't have any of the implied routing difficulties given it routes as any other sim. There are so many things wrong with that post but why bother.
I've also seen many of the other posts Grant has made over at MTS., specially regarding cut out features and mechanics. I fear and pity the future of the franchise knowing it rests on them. I've seen so many small 4-6 man development teams with limited budgets produce such amazing, complex, resource-demanding that rival and best many AAA titles that it's just ridiculous. The fact that this is what we get from a franchise that has been going for 14 years getting top notch sales from a fairly established publisher that can more than easily fund it and which has plenty of feedback is pitiful.
May I also ask why are such posts not being made in the official forums? Specially when there are several questions and concerns about it.
Edit: Fixed because quoting is messing up that post
I'm not sure if you read kotaku's article discussing richard hillemans new objectiver for EA. I think a lot of people might want to go back and read what he has to say about cross platforming their titles with the mobile market. Than we can better grasp what is going on with sims 4.
while i do agree that many things do take more than just a year to make, a bear living in the woods mesh and all and a few interactions please i highly doubt over a year. They're triple AAA titles can accomplish that in very short of a time, let alone any other dev out there can do the same. Hell LOL makes a character with in the span of a month which promote more depth and animation than a bear would.
I just am not happy about the level excuses being pumped out at customers to not provide quality work or innovative experience.
Ea does love their obfuscation and prevarication.
― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club
Or creative enough to actually read the feedback we've been giving!!
I also forgot to include in my post that it's really a pitiful situation that a team with company backing can't outdo an animator working with Sims 3 technology and games assets to create a bear with new behaviors. Or a Sims 2 creator and animator making the chicken coop available for that game. Not getting paid money, just the joy and admiration of the simmers that follow them. Amazing!
maybe as far as the Base Game goes...
It's just so difficult and expensive.
Like it's super hard.
Super duper hard.
Please don't make us do stuff.
Released: 2 June 2009
First Expansion: 16 November 2009
5 months
The Sims 4
2 September 2014
Current Date: January 26
If there is no expansion pack in February I think they are diffidently falling behind with The Sims 4
I also love your positive attitude as I share the same thoughts with you. I love the game too but it is very obvious that A LOT of people are not happy. However, I feel that the developers can turn this around and add many of the things that people are vocal about. I just hope EA isn't dumb enough to not financially support what needs to happen to turn this all around. I don't understand why such a money-making franchise would have what seems to be a low budget? That makes no sense to me. In the meantime I will continue to be optimistic about the future content of Sims 4.
I don't know WHAT this dead mess is. DE-evolved & aimed at tweeners. Oh well....
It was a nice decade or so.
I really, really hope you are right. Those of us that are unhappy are really tired of being, well, unhappy. We want a game everyone can enjoy.
― Chris Murray, The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club
I so agree with all of this, specially the sentence I highlighted. Because if you go to Steam you could see so many indie games with very complex graphics and animals and they aren't even as successful as EA or had games before it that could pay for the next installment like sims 4 has. An example of an indie game I played that has animals and got good graphics is Rust. And it was created by a small development team. I'm sure there are even better examples of indie games that can prove how wrong they are.
Here's a nice example of automated intelligent machinery before in-game programming was even added made by a single player(from 0:00 to 2:00, the rest is the explanation of the setup):
And yes, by all standards that example is miles ahead in terms of complexity and depth than The Sims has ever been, and the difficulty of creating a volumetric proprietary engine from the ground up with proper physics and programming/A.I. possibilities along with fully voxel-style maps is worlds ahead of any aspect of the simulation and calculations that happen in The Sims. The talent, the passion, the dedication, the respect, all of which is missing here. And they have the audacity to say such things? Fantastic, can't wait to see The Sims 5 be in 2D because a 3D environment is "too hard".