Here is a video of how the Sims 4 looked while it was being built:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8XX2g0u2kw
Apparently, there were screenshots of this video that were released earlier this year, but now we have the video and some more info. People on Twitter are getting information from the devs website.
I'm posting what they post below:
Chi Chan talked about the UI in the Sims 4 and revealed new information about the original Sims 4 game.
I bolded the important parts.
The design of the UI for the Sims 4 changed many times throughout production, as the type of game the Sims 4 would be was forever changing. Originally, the UI had to be the same for three different types of gameplay styles, which meant developing a design that felt easy to use, while easily displaying different types of gameplay modes in a clear way. The Sims 4 was originally a different title, with a Story Mode, Online Mode and Freeplay Mode. The Story Mode was similar to that of the earlier Sims consoles games, which required different icons that wouldn't be available in Online Mode and Freeplay Mode. Story Mode would show different menus and icons showing game progress and unlocked items. Some aspects of Story Mode remain in the final game, such as the interface for accessing secret areas (which was originally a Story Mode exclusive, but ended up as Hidden Lots in the final game) and unlocking objects as you progress through Careers (which originally was there to unlock items in Story Mode as you progressed). Online Mode allowed players to play in a way that was again unique, and allowed you to create a single Sim and move them into a home. You could choose your friends as Neighbors and clicking on a friends house would include a UI format of moving a friend via their online account. This was completely removed in the final game. Online Mode was more of a virtual chatroom, and you compete with friends in certain activities, such as racing to reach a certain milestone in game, or completing goals the quickest. This came entirely with it's own UI. The final mode, Freeplay Mode, was a more traditional experience, but was more streamlined than the previous titles, as it was more of an extra gameplay mode built from the Story and Online mode, rather than a gameplay mode built from scratch. This meant that several icons from the Story and Online Mode were present in the UI, but greyed out and unclickable.
As changes were made, and the game was left with just a Freeplay mode, the UI was streamlined to be more simple and required less icons, which at first meant the removal of a top panel for other gameplay modes. However as final touches were made, some of the icons from the bottom panel were made for a much smaller top panel.
http://www.chichan.org/
Comments
The objects and textures in the early version of the game show much higher polycounts, and much more detail in the items.
It's interesting to see that alot of the texture quality was reduced for the final game, even though the developers created much higher detailed content.
Even the pockets on her jacket aren't 2D.
Devs don't usually go to the trouble of creating more detailed items, just to simplify them further on.
Makes me wonder if EA made the devs reduce the polycount and textures so more people could play the game.
Hmm.
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Also, Hidden Lots and why they exist make more sense. And it's interesting to see there was a Story Mode.
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Also, that map view looks so cool!
Maybe a test for shading and shadows?
I wish they had kept the map style like that.
And the 3D grass sways in the wind.
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A Simmer at MTS did confirm they found Olympus files in their Sims 4 folder.
"Well, I have a bunch of error logs in my TS4 docs folder, and they all contain this:
Code:<sku>ea.maxis.sims4.13.pc</sku><createtime>2015-10-19 20:24:50</createtime><buildsignature>Local.Unknown.Unknown.1.11.64.1020-0001.0200.0000.0150.Release</buildsignature><categoryid>(AS)olympus.browser::"
I absolutely think that choices like the reduced polycount and the lack of collision detection when the game was released (is there collision detection between sims now?) would make sense if they were designing this game as a multiplayer experience originally.
TS4 uses dx9 and textures have to be mirrored in the system RAM. Better textures = higher memory usages = game would crash way more often, regardless of your computer specs.
Very true
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This part is the most interesting to me. So the Sims 4 was never built as a normal Sims game, and had a Freeplay option built from a Story Mode and Multiplayer mode? So it was never built as a normal Sims game?
Reminds me of The Sims Life Stories, with Story Mode and then a limited Free Play mode:
And this part sounds like the game was supposed to be more like The Sims Bustin Out or Sims Urbz. Not the Sims 4.
Bustin Out and Urbz have a Story Mode, Freeplay Mode and Online Mode:
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Yeah, it seems Freeplay mode was built off a single sim experience, as Sim Story Modes only have 1 Sim, and his post said you could only play as a Single Sim in Online Mode. And the post says Freeplay was built from Online and Story
Those people were right. I admit, I was wrong lol.
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Exactly. EA/Maxis biggest problem is their customers weren't born yesterday and know a lot more than suits the company.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
It's not like Single Sim games aren't popular though. They made a trilogy with the "Stories" games, and each console game has a single player story mode (except 3) and they all sold really well. The console games for Sims 2 outsold the PC game.
All versions of the Sims 2 have a story mode as the focus except the PC version. And the Sims 4 started development in 2012 apparently.
Maybe EA used this data, and then backtracked when they realised what PC players wanted? The console version outsold the PC version, and there was two main differences between them.
- Only Young Adults
- Story Mode focused
This article honestly fills in a lot of blanks for me.
I FINALLY know at least why they had secret worlds that seemed so random haha.
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https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
Depends how you look at it. I'd rather they stuck and released it as a side game then worked on a real TS4.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
Honestly, I am dissapointed in EA. Not so much the devs, because the original concept didn't seem bad (as a side game, playing challenges with friends sounds fun). I'm mad at EA for basically making a game that never had a proper freeplay mode (at least one built from scratch) into a game that was 100% freeplay.
I have to say sorry to those who I basically said the game wasn't single player focused!!!
What scares me the most (since I do like the game) is that if the game was never built to be a proper Sims sequel, how much content can the game handle? A spin off doesn't usually have expansions (one at most).
Also, it's weird that we now have a developer confirming the Sims 4 wasn't originally the Sims 4. What plans did they have for the actual Sims 4? Is it being saved for Sims 5?
All these questions now we have confirmation. I don't really know what to feel
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It's sad you feel that way too now @jackjack_k I honestly am. I know what it feels like to be disappointed in them after being such a fan. It's not nice. So just want to say I know how you feel, am sorry you feel that way and I wish things were different.
Basically if I had known before I bought that any of this happened I would never have bought. I feel foolish and cheated.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
I think it really shows in the game we have now. The small worlds, the culling, the big emphasis on skilling up your sims; it sounds like the Freeplay mode in the version(s) talked about here were just as boring as many of the elements in the game today.
*sigh* I didn't know until after release when I'd already lost my money.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1