"We're so happy that our fans have responded so well to the foundation we made for them with Sims 4."
"Approachability was really important for us."
"We really love the excitement from our fans over the Sims 4."
"We're super excited to give our fans a genealogy tracker, it's a much requested feature. It's something new and exciting for our players who play legacies."
"Our simmers love their weirder stories!!"
voicing displeasure is one thing, however, please refrain from describing (even hypothetical) violence against people...
c'm on, now! No one wants to read that and all you are going to do is get yourself into trouble.
Fixxxed for your delicate sensibilities.
thank you- though, it's certainly not my delicate sensibilities you should be worried about. I'd be more worried about the people that- you know... work at Maxis not taking too kindly to it.
The other day, an eight year old got suspended from school for telling a classmate he was carrying the One Ring and was going to make him disappear...
I heard about that it sounded stupid too me.. People today are too sensitive that I fear the world will turn into a bunch of wusses.
"We're so happy that our fans have responded so well to the foundation we made for them with Sims 4."
"Approachability was really important for us."
"We really love the excitement from our fans over the Sims 4."
"We're super excited to give our fans a genealogy tracker, it's a much requested feature. It's something new and exciting for our players who play legacies."
"Our simmers love their weirder stories!!"
voicing displeasure is one thing, however, please refrain from describing (even hypothetical) violence against people...
c'm on, now! No one wants to read that and all you are going to do is get yourself into trouble.
Fixxxed for your delicate sensibilities.
thank you- though, it's certainly not my delicate sensibilities you should be worried about. I'd be more worried about the people that- you know... work at Maxis not taking too kindly to it.
The other day, an eight year old got suspended from school for telling a classmate he was carrying the One Ring and was going to make him disappear...
More than half the fun of playing the game is figuring it out. I'm fairly new to the franchise starting with TS3. A good part of what hooked me in that game was figuring out what in the heck I was doing. The first time I killed a sim my whole family stood around my computer and watched. I don't want a completely approachable game. I want those "OMG! What just happened?" or "Now how am I supposed to get him to do THAT?" moments.
Oh YES. When I first played TS2, it was crazy how much stuff I didn't understand. And that just made the game all the more fascinating to me.
I mean, look at a game like Dark Souls. Why is it popular, because it's accessible? No, because it's an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in an incredibly rewarding experience.
Accessibility is over-rated; it leads to bland, forgettable experiences. Players want to become invested in their experiences, particularly in a game like The Sims.
"We've been attributing the state of The Sims 4 to greed but I think it's time to give sheer incompetence another look."
-Honeywell
More than half the fun of playing the game is figuring it out. I'm fairly new to the franchise starting with TS3. A good part of what hooked me in that game was figuring out what in the heck I was doing. The first time I killed a sim my whole family stood around my computer and watched. I don't want a completely approachable game. I want those "OMG! What just happened?" or "Now how am I supposed to get him to do THAT?" moments.
Oh YES. When I first played TS2, it was crazy how much stuff I didn't understand. And that just made the game all the more fascinating to me.
I mean, look at a game like Dark Souls. Why is it popular, because it's accessible? No, because it's an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in an incredibly rewarding experience.
Accessibility is over-rated; it leads to bland, forgettable experiences. Players want to become invested in their experiences, particularly in a game like The Sims.
Very well said I remember my shocked experience in Sims 2 when my cat ripped the couch to pieces I never saw it coming which was awesome
"So you get a totally different set of interactions based on whether you picked a hot-headed Sim who happens to be angry rather than a romantic Sim who happens to feel flirty. It unlocks a bunch of different story possibilities. And the fans have responded very positively to that. "
It would if the emotions weren't broken.
The fans have responded very well to this foundation that we've laid for them, and they're excited to see where we go with it in the future. And at the same time, they still just love being part of The Sims world. There are still a lot of fans who are playing The Sims 3 and even playing The Sims 2 because they like to see all the different flavors of what the franchise has offered over the years.
So... wait... fans have responded so well to the foundation you've laid out in the base game that they are going back to playing The Sims 3 and the Sims 2? Come again for Big Fudge?
And The Sims 4 foundation is about setting that groundwork in the same fashion. How do we make sure there's a way to make money for your Sims? A way for them to excel and progress? A way for them to tell really interesting stories about who they are and who they met and how all those Sims interact? When we evaluate whether something's an expansion content or not, it has to do with that core of setting up that foundation. When you look at some of the things we've done with expansions in the past, we put in things like dance speheres or vampires. And those aren't really things you run into in your traditional day-in-the-life, and that's a great opportunity for us through expansions or game packs to give you a very themed and flavorful new slice of life.
You know what I do run into in my every day life? Dishwashers and babies.
So it wasn't a gameplay moment that felt meaningful at the time of how our Sims were reacting to the world. How their emotions were playing out and how their interactions were playing out. It wasn't an object that two Sims would use together, for example where you could see their personalities clash. It wasn't an object that would show off how our multi-tasking and compatibility were working.
I notice you didn't mention babies...
Something that's changed a lot about the audience is how important approachability has become really important. That doesn't mean making a game easier or dumbing it down. People want to feel like they understand it when they first get in. For us on the Sims through the generations, that has meant we've constantly tried to figure out how to make it a very welcoming game to jump into. There are so many things you can do in The Sims that it can be a little intimidating, so we're trying to give people a leg up in explaining how to start a story or giving people a gallery with a family to download right away.
so... you dumbed it down...
Bottom Line: "We hear you loud and clear- as long as what you are saying is what we already plan to do!"
really awesome to read that things, really this show how much they are "reading and understand the things", really.
The bits about diswashers and approachability made me want to scream. I'm not sure she understands the game at all.
It's a life simulations. Little things like dishwashers make it feel like real life. Not everything has to be about emotions and multitasking. The game shouldn't lose everything to two aspects of it. Those aspects should enhance the game not be the focal point.
More than half the fun of playing the game is figuring it out. I'm fairly new to the franchise starting with TS3. A good part of what hooked me in that game was figuring out what in the heck I was doing. The first time I killed a sim my whole family stood around my computer and watched. I don't want a completely approachable game. I want those "OMG! What just happened?" or "Now how am I supposed to get him to do THAT?" moments.
Dishwashers removed some of the grind for me. Yes my sims could use a sink. But no put it all in the dishwasher and get on with playing!
I'm quite concerned about some of these answers. I understand she's trying to sell the game but I think a few comments completely miss the point of the sims for many customers and it's disappointing the feedback of the past four months doesn't appear to be changing that she admitted early on in the boards that they struggled with what the concept of what made the sims fun was. It's almost like they need to take some time to really analyse what their customers are saying much more closely.b
while i can understand how you like to be "positive", i can't totally agree, because no mather how i look, some things in this interview are obvious lies and i hate companies which use "lies" to speak, because again i'm acostumated with companies which actually acknowledge when a game is bad and dont have problem to "spit" it, like ubisoft and blizzard, then see a guru distorting or changing topics to not proper speak about the problem for me noway i gonna accept or be fine, this only show how bad EA and MAXIS are, really i can't really stand with companies like that or peoples like that which need to use "fallacious" to not proper concern the problem, yeah if you clear look at forum and others places noway most of the peoples which are going back to play sims 2 and 3 are doing that because "they are happy with the sims 4" and is just nostalgia many cases are simmers frustrates with the current game and how the things are being adressed, peoples just get bored to play this game them go back to play the games they feel is true the sims for them.
So a discussion about the base game and statements EA said (by proxy, if nothing else) in an interview related to our take on the base game were moved to the Get To Work EP forum? Yeah, that's not weird at all... :/
I won't be happy until I see toddlers and cars. Although I do want to be.
PLEASE FIX TEENS IN TS4! I NEED YOUNGER TEENS NOT YA TEENS! (^_^)Please add Music Bands with lead singers! Please add vehicles and garages! Vehicles have always been part of The Sims.
I try not to come to these forums anymore, much less post, but... dang.
I love how quickly "the loudest and most unhappy people" become "the fans" and "we fans" as though they speak for everyone. Yup, if EA says fans are enjoying the game, they must be lying liars.
Because people like me totally don't exist, apparently. The fact that you're reading this post is entirely your imagination.
You know why you never hear from their satisfied customers? Because they're playing the game. This is the first post I've made (other than to post updates about my ongoing story) in months. Because I'd rather be playing than posting.
What you see here does NOT represent EA's entire customer base.
Part of what makes the disgruntled fans seem like such a majority (other than their loudness) is that they spend most of their time talking about what LIARS the company are and how they are scheming to destroy a hallowed game and alienate their customers. They all agree on this, so it seems like some homogeneous legion of upset fans the company is "ignoring." There is no way to please "the fans," because you are all Angry-Poop furious about different things.
If you look at it, most of this "majority" only agrees that they are unhappy. You've got people saying "Oh, OFB again, ugh, just the same retread of all the same boring stuff" while the others are saying "They've changed EVERYTHING that made the Sims great! Make it how it was!" And that's just in this one thread.
And don't get me started on the whole "I paid to beta test a game" argument. People complain that they're going to make us pay in expansions for stuff that should've been included, then complain when they give us updates for free because "it should have been in the game already." If they'd "waited until the game was ready" instead of giving us free updates, we'd still be waiting for the game. The way games are released and updated has been fundamentally changed, forever. Games are never "ready" anymore. They continually evolve. That's just how it works. Deal with it.
For the love of the Social Bunny, stop saying they don't respond to "player feedback" just because they didn't respond to yours. What few problems I had with the game at launch that anyone other than me had an issue with, they have already fixed, and I'm so excited about GTW I can hardly see straight.
I'm not alone. I'm just not (usually) as loud as you are.
Be angry. Be disappointed. Suggest changes. All fine. But the minute you start with this "lying conspiracy" stuff, you cross a line into ridiculous. And more to the point, why are you still even here? When the square-jaw bug and the delay in handling it made me utterly sick about the game, I reported it ONCE, then played Dragon Age for three months. Had a fantastic time. Then I came back and the bug was fixed.
I hate to state what should be surpassingly obvious, but... seriously think about your life choices, people. Life is so plum short. You have really no idea. If the old Sims is what made you happy, play that. If you mostly enjoy the Sims 4 and have hope that it can become what you want it to be, by all means keep playing and keep submitting feedback, but don't make weird ultimatums like "I'm quitting if you don't bring back toddlers!" Just quit. Just move on with your life. Nothing stopping you from coming back later if you hear through the grapevine that they made the changes you wanted.
Seriously ask yourself: what is the absolute worst that could happen if you just walked away from these forums and this game right now and never looked back?
That's not a rhetorical question. Really. Ask yourself.
If you answer that question honestly, then maybe, just maybe, someday the money EA spends on these forums will actually benefit the people who are playing and enjoying their games.
@SimSiren3 I think you should take some time to educate yourself about those you are battering for standing up for themselves. Seriously if *you* act differently from others who made that the 'right' way to behave? Did someone vote you as dictator of the forum?
You have no idea what's going on in people's lives, why they feel so strongly about the sims and what motivates people. Your entire post is created around assumptions and conjecture. You have no right to question the integrity of others or their behaviour, feelings or positions.
I had no idea how important the sims was to people until I started my thread and I sat there and cried as people shared heartbreaking stories and news. Think about it for a moment. What do people want in life when things are tough? To control life so they could make it better. The sims offers a tool to do just that in a way-it allows people to escape to a nicer reality. It's more than 'just a game' for people who use it as an escape from pain, heartbreak, illness and stress.
I don't criticise you for liking the game, in fact I'm happy for you. And by the way-we are equal in being fans. Just because someone likes/dislikes the recent base game has no bearing on how important we are. We are equal.
And what's the worst that can happen? That the game we love will never bother catering for us again. You may find that trivial but we both have our own minds and it's important to me.
I like the Sims 4, but it has a lot of flaws, I'm here because I want to make the game better, not because I want to rain on anybody's parade. I'm here because this matters to me. If I didn't matter, I would have just walked away from it.
Yup, don't look at the forums which has the most feedback from the loyal fans. Sometimes, Sims 4 seems a little too dumbed-down for me. You can see right through some of the programming. That ruins the magical feel of "Oh my gosh these wizards are amazing take my money I want more".
Per esempio, when I played Sims 3 I spent five hours gawking at the animation. I stayed up late that night (had school the next day) and then arrived very late to school. Totally worth seeing Sims 3.
Fans still playing the other games? I play Sims 3 to get what Sims 4 is lacking and Sims 4 for what Sims 3 is lacking. Well, Sims 4 shouldn't be lacking what was in Sims 3. Toddlers, Story Progression, CAS... cars... this is the list that never ends, it goes on and on my friends...
Fans still playing the other games? I play Sims 3 to get what Sims 4 is lacking and Sims 4 for what Sims 3 is lacking. Well, Sims 4 shouldn't be lacking what was in Sims 3. Toddlers, Story Progression, CAS... cars... this is the list that never ends, it goes on and on my friends...
This right here is what makes it so frustrating!
I'm a bit impatient now. I don't want to wait 4 years for the game to have the things we should have now.
PLEASE FIX TEENS IN TS4! I NEED YOUNGER TEENS NOT YA TEENS! (^_^)Please add Music Bands with lead singers! Please add vehicles and garages! Vehicles have always been part of The Sims.
While I certainly do adore having other sims fans come at me and other simmers for having a different opinion on Sims 4, I didn't come here to whine about it or shoot off conspiracy theories or whatever, I just wanted to talk to other fans and get their take on recent Sims events
on Gamespot. So something as small as a dishwasher, for example, it was certainly something that we discussed. And when we looked at the Sims themselves, they already have the capability of handling the dirty dishes. We brought over live drag from The Sims 3. So it wasn't a gameplay moment that felt meaningful at the time of how our Sims were reacting to the world. How their emotions were playing out and how their interactions were playing out. It wasn't an object that two Sims would use together, for example where you could see their personalities clash. It wasn't an object that would show off how our multi-tasking and compatibility were working.
It doesn't look to me that this game focuses on objects, which two or more sims could use together and were two sims would clash with their emotions or multitask. Such conception as mentioned above fully fulfills only the chesstable and the cardgame table. Both are really not new in the series and the functionality in Sims 4 doesn't differ from another series besides of the "emotional" behavior of the sims itself. The object functionality was not changed in a visible way, only sims behavior, while interacting with this objects, makes a difference.
The sink is not an object that two Sims would use together, where you could see their personalities clash. They brought over live drag from The Sims 3. With this new possibility player can now drag and drop any dish into the trashcan. The sink becomes obsolete in this case. Would this argumentation mean to remove a sink in the next sim series? This kind of argumentation is the same vague as Lyndsay Pearson's argumentation about the dishwasher.
In many cases multitasking on a sink causes many issues, the conception was not brought full to the end, what means a sim doesn't have to brush a teeth while washing dishes or drinking a coffee at the same time.
I once spent a day reading interviews with Will Wright, being interested in his thoughts on designing the Sims franchise. He talked about giving players more creative leverage, having a world react to player designs, incorporating all life stages in a simulation, and the idea of an interactive doll house that adults would like as much as children. He mentioned that his daughter and her friends influenced his designs by their preference for the creative aspects of the Sims to the more goal-oriented tasks. He also believed in very few simple rules that allowed the player to create complex worlds.
EA ditched these basic ideas by giving us more rules (have your Sim in the right emotional state to accomplish something, do these things every day to advance careers), tiny, prescribed spaces to work in, and near zero creative ability. I notice they don't even pretend to claim they incorporated the best features of previous versions. I'd like to see them provide examples of "...the fans have responded very well to this foundation that we've laid for them..." besides their sales figures because I don't see overwhelming number of happy Sims fans.
Comments
I heard about that it sounded stupid too me.. People today are too sensitive that I fear the world will turn into a bunch of wusses.
Oh my god I read that. It's just ridiculous.
Oh YES. When I first played TS2, it was crazy how much stuff I didn't understand. And that just made the game all the more fascinating to me.
I mean, look at a game like Dark Souls. Why is it popular, because it's accessible? No, because it's an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in an incredibly rewarding experience.
Accessibility is over-rated; it leads to bland, forgettable experiences. Players want to become invested in their experiences, particularly in a game like The Sims.
"We've been attributing the state of The Sims 4 to greed but I think it's time to give sheer incompetence another look."
-Honeywell
Very well said I remember my shocked experience in Sims 2 when my cat ripped the couch to pieces I never saw it coming which was awesome
while i can understand how you like to be "positive", i can't totally agree, because no mather how i look, some things in this interview are obvious lies and i hate companies which use "lies" to speak, because again i'm acostumated with companies which actually acknowledge when a game is bad and dont have problem to "spit" it, like ubisoft and blizzard, then see a guru distorting or changing topics to not proper speak about the problem for me noway i gonna accept or be fine, this only show how bad EA and MAXIS are, really i can't really stand with companies like that or peoples like that which need to use "fallacious" to not proper concern the problem, yeah if you clear look at forum and others places noway most of the peoples which are going back to play sims 2 and 3 are doing that because "they are happy with the sims 4" and is just nostalgia many cases are simmers frustrates with the current game and how the things are being adressed, peoples just get bored to play this game them go back to play the games they feel is true the sims for them.
I won't be happy until I see toddlers and cars. Although I do want to be.
I love how quickly "the loudest and most unhappy people" become "the fans" and "we fans" as though they speak for everyone. Yup, if EA says fans are enjoying the game, they must be lying liars.
Because people like me totally don't exist, apparently. The fact that you're reading this post is entirely your imagination.
You know why you never hear from their satisfied customers? Because they're playing the game. This is the first post I've made (other than to post updates about my ongoing story) in months. Because I'd rather be playing than posting.
What you see here does NOT represent EA's entire customer base.
Part of what makes the disgruntled fans seem like such a majority (other than their loudness) is that they spend most of their time talking about what LIARS the company are and how they are scheming to destroy a hallowed game and alienate their customers. They all agree on this, so it seems like some homogeneous legion of upset fans the company is "ignoring." There is no way to please "the fans," because you are all Angry-Poop furious about different things.
If you look at it, most of this "majority" only agrees that they are unhappy. You've got people saying "Oh, OFB again, ugh, just the same retread of all the same boring stuff" while the others are saying "They've changed EVERYTHING that made the Sims great! Make it how it was!" And that's just in this one thread.
And don't get me started on the whole "I paid to beta test a game" argument. People complain that they're going to make us pay in expansions for stuff that should've been included, then complain when they give us updates for free because "it should have been in the game already." If they'd "waited until the game was ready" instead of giving us free updates, we'd still be waiting for the game. The way games are released and updated has been fundamentally changed, forever. Games are never "ready" anymore. They continually evolve. That's just how it works. Deal with it.
For the love of the Social Bunny, stop saying they don't respond to "player feedback" just because they didn't respond to yours. What few problems I had with the game at launch that anyone other than me had an issue with, they have already fixed, and I'm so excited about GTW I can hardly see straight.
I'm not alone. I'm just not (usually) as loud as you are.
Be angry. Be disappointed. Suggest changes. All fine. But the minute you start with this "lying conspiracy" stuff, you cross a line into ridiculous. And more to the point, why are you still even here? When the square-jaw bug and the delay in handling it made me utterly sick about the game, I reported it ONCE, then played Dragon Age for three months. Had a fantastic time. Then I came back and the bug was fixed.
I hate to state what should be surpassingly obvious, but... seriously think about your life choices, people. Life is so plum short. You have really no idea. If the old Sims is what made you happy, play that. If you mostly enjoy the Sims 4 and have hope that it can become what you want it to be, by all means keep playing and keep submitting feedback, but don't make weird ultimatums like "I'm quitting if you don't bring back toddlers!" Just quit. Just move on with your life. Nothing stopping you from coming back later if you hear through the grapevine that they made the changes you wanted.
Seriously ask yourself: what is the absolute worst that could happen if you just walked away from these forums and this game right now and never looked back?
That's not a rhetorical question. Really. Ask yourself.
If you answer that question honestly, then maybe, just maybe, someday the money EA spends on these forums will actually benefit the people who are playing and enjoying their games.
You have no idea what's going on in people's lives, why they feel so strongly about the sims and what motivates people. Your entire post is created around assumptions and conjecture. You have no right to question the integrity of others or their behaviour, feelings or positions.
I had no idea how important the sims was to people until I started my thread and I sat there and cried as people shared heartbreaking stories and news. Think about it for a moment. What do people want in life when things are tough? To control life so they could make it better. The sims offers a tool to do just that in a way-it allows people to escape to a nicer reality. It's more than 'just a game' for people who use it as an escape from pain, heartbreak, illness and stress.
I don't criticise you for liking the game, in fact I'm happy for you. And by the way-we are equal in being fans. Just because someone likes/dislikes the recent base game has no bearing on how important we are. We are equal.
And what's the worst that can happen? That the game we love will never bother catering for us again. You may find that trivial but we both have our own minds and it's important to me.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
Per esempio, when I played Sims 3 I spent five hours gawking at the animation. I stayed up late that night (had school the next day) and then arrived very late to school. Totally worth seeing Sims 3.
Fans still playing the other games? I play Sims 3 to get what Sims 4 is lacking and Sims 4 for what Sims 3 is lacking. Well, Sims 4 shouldn't be lacking what was in Sims 3. Toddlers, Story Progression, CAS... cars... this is the list that never ends, it goes on and on my friends...
This right here is what makes it so frustrating!
I'm a bit impatient now. I don't want to wait 4 years for the game to have the things we should have now.
It doesn't look to me that this game focuses on objects, which two or more sims could use together and were two sims would clash with their emotions or multitask. Such conception as mentioned above fully fulfills only the chesstable and the cardgame table. Both are really not new in the series and the functionality in Sims 4 doesn't differ from another series besides of the "emotional" behavior of the sims itself. The object functionality was not changed in a visible way, only sims behavior, while interacting with this objects, makes a difference.
The sink is not an object that two Sims would use together, where you could see their personalities clash. They brought over live drag from The Sims 3. With this new possibility player can now drag and drop any dish into the trashcan. The sink becomes obsolete in this case. Would this argumentation mean to remove a sink in the next sim series? This kind of argumentation is the same vague as Lyndsay Pearson's argumentation about the dishwasher.
In many cases multitasking on a sink causes many issues, the conception was not brought full to the end, what means a sim doesn't have to brush a teeth while washing dishes or drinking a coffee at the same time.
EA ditched these basic ideas by giving us more rules (have your Sim in the right emotional state to accomplish something, do these things every day to advance careers), tiny, prescribed spaces to work in, and near zero creative ability. I notice they don't even pretend to claim they incorporated the best features of previous versions. I'd like to see them provide examples of "...the fans have responded very well to this foundation that we've laid for them..." besides their sales figures because I don't see overwhelming number of happy Sims fans.