I have not used any Mods/CC since the first year of game, cause it messed up My game and had to keep re-installing it, I have been CC/Mods free since that 1st yr.
That's cool. I can't play the Sims 4 without MC Command Center myself. Culling would kill my saves.
Yup found the Tiara, it was in the hair section, thanks.
What happen to the "Urgent!" thread like this one?
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.
What happen to the "Urgent!" thread like this one?
If you read through you'll see a post by SimGuruDrake where she explains she changed the title because it was misleading.
Yes as soon as I made the comment I scrolled up and read what happened.
Some comments are missing too I see. Ones that I didn't think were offensive. But oh well.
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.
Right now EA has a new IP and other franchises that are in the forefront and EA is more concerned with that.
Omen by HP Intel®️ Core™️ i9- 12900K W/ RGB Liquid Cooler 32GB Nvidia RTX 3080 10Gb ASUS Ultra-Wide 34" Curved Monitor. Omen By HP Intel® Core™ i7-12800HX 32 GB Nvidia 3070 Ti 8 GB 17.3 Screen
I'm so disappointed in this news... I was so certain they were going to announce the next expansion there! By the look of things, the next expansion will come august or later! I'm losing faith... If it's not a generations pack I might give up. Luckily for me I have another game I'm more interested in at the moment.
Hopping in here because it seems like there is a lot of misleading information being presented that I want to squash:
Please link to a source whenever you make any kind of statement. Do not simply state something as being factual without any information to back it up.
The Sims 4 is doing just fine. As many of you have noted from our financial report that The Sims 4 player base grew by nearly two-thirds in the fiscal year <<this is fact, not opinion (and before it gets asked: no I will not be providing any additional information that was not shared in our financial reports.)
Additionally: I am seeing this far too often here and I want to make it clear. Your personal opinions are not fact and should never be stated as such. Do not make statements about what you *think* is going on within studio and try to pass it off as being factual information. Do not make statements of what you *think* myself and the other SimGurus feel about the community or the game --you are not us. The SimGurus are people not a product and should be respected as individuals --this means that slamming the developers and making personal attacks towards them is not and will never be okay. The Sims 4 is a product and you are welcome to provide your opinions on said product whether it is negative or positive. The forums are a place for you to provide feedback / ideas, share your creations, and talk / debate with one another about The Sims 4 and the franchise as a whole --not a place for you to attack / slander / defame the people who work on it.
I'm happy to answer the questions that I can. I'm also changing the title of this thread as it is extremely misleading.
OK, here are some questions. Why are actual sales numbers shared for some EA games but not for TS4?
Is culling (Sims, relationships) going to be fixed?
This falls into future content territory which I can't comment on.
@SimGuruDrake can you clarify re the culling. Because we've had a few different comments from Gurus so I think it's something that we needs to be cleared up.
First we heard culling was working as intended as you say. Then we had another Guru saying (I'm pretty sure in response to a thread here somewhere ages ago) that you knew there were issues and were looking to address it so a lot of people thought that meant it was bugged and it would be addressed.
Now it seems we are back to 'its working as intended'. I know the team slightly increased the limit around GT but is it the case that the studio are now saying culling is a feature working exactly as intended? (within reviews from feedback in the future)
The reason I think it's important people know is that a lot of people have been waiting for a 'fix' and if it's not something you consider needs a fix then it follows that there isn't much chance of that.
I also wanted to say that I know you said you felt the company were transparent in those blogs perhaps the reason so many people feel let down is that they were quite vague, full of promise and encouraged our natural loyalty. Now I was, and may be in the future depending on what I see from Maxis, willing to give the studio the benefit of the doubt but I felt let down by the inference in interviews that sims customers are unreasonable and dismissing concerns by saying we expect EP content when the issue is I'm still waiting on a base that lives up to those blog promises pre release. I also felt let down that those blogs told us that you were excited for better communication with your customers. That then in reality translated into less communication post release.
As a customer the experience of how this whole situation has been handled has damaged my trust more than the disappointment of the game did. That's what bothers me most-the loyalty shown to your company over the years should be appreciated but also nurtured. Loyal customers are a great asset-and if people expect a lot from the studio it's because their body of work in the past has led to that which should be taken as a compliment in itself! A lot of the same staff are still with you and I'd like to know that they know that!
Perhaps for future reference there should be a communication that makes your customers feel valued for investing in TS4 despite the early issues and shows appreciation in a way that translates to your customers more effectively? A lot of people bought the base at premium price despite knowing the issues-that shows a lot of loyalty and trust in your studio. It would be nice if that was acknowledged and shown to be appreciated.
I hope that we never see a future with a base released in a manner like TS4 was again. But id hope that if we did there was an approach that clearly indicated that any improvements to the base would likely be in the distant future (if ever). I know the blogs were trying to sell the game-I understand that. But what I perceived as a customer from the language used didn't translate into the good experience I was expecting from Maxis.
I'd also hope that we never saw bans on review copies again either. If I'd had reviews to peruse before launch I would likely have waited for improvements because on release TS4 felt very, very bare-even more so than I'd expected given those blogs. The features missing didn't even scratch the surface.
Now I know you are new and a lot of what occurred to damage trust happened before you were even working with Maxis. I appreciate the work you have put in to try to get the studio communicating a tiny bit more and I think it's important you should know that. But I wanted to give you how *I* felt at the situation coming from someone who read those blogs and didn't consider them very very clear as you mentioned and why exactly that was so you can understand a root of the problem.
As for EA play? I don't think it's a big loss. Gamescom was awkward and I'd rather not feel that way again watching an announcement.
Not really when it comes to GPs. Both GPs have been really good and I felt like they were very positively received within the community. Complaints seem to be dealing with the base game and EPs more. I personally, love Spa Day, even though I did not care for the subject in the beginning. I thought it was well executed. Same with Outdoor retreat.
Hopping in here because it seems like there is a lot of misleading information being presented that I want to squash:
Please link to a source whenever you make any kind of statement. Do not simply state something as being factual without any information to back it up.
The Sims 4 is doing just fine. As many of you have noted from our financial report that The Sims 4 player base grew by nearly two-thirds in the fiscal year <<this is fact, not opinion (and before it gets asked: no I will not be providing any additional information that was not shared in our financial reports.)
Additionally: I am seeing this far too often here and I want to make it clear. Your personal opinions are not fact and should never be stated as such. Do not make statements about what you *think* is going on within studio and try to pass it off as being factual information. Do not make statements of what you *think* myself and the other SimGurus feel about the community or the game --you are not us. The SimGurus are people not a product and should be respected as individuals --this means that slamming the developers and making personal attacks towards them is not and will never be okay. The Sims 4 is a product and you are welcome to provide your opinions on said product whether it is negative or positive. The forums are a place for you to provide feedback / ideas, share your creations, and talk / debate with one another about The Sims 4 and the franchise as a whole --not a place for you to attack / slander / defame the people who work on it.
I'm happy to answer the questions that I can. I'm also changing the title of this thread as it is extremely misleading.
OK, here are some questions. Why are actual sales numbers shared for some EA games but not for TS4?
Is culling (Sims, relationships) going to be fixed?
This falls into future content territory which I can't comment on.
@SimGuruDrake can you clarify re the culling. Because we've had a few different comments from Gurus so I think it's something that we needs to be cleared up.
First we heard culling was working as intended as you say. Then we had another Guru saying (I'm pretty sure in response to a thread here somewhere ages ago) that you knew there were issues and were looking to address it so a lot of people thought that meant it was bugged and it would be addressed.
Now it seems we are back to 'its working as intended'. I know the team slightly increased the limit around GT but is it the case that the studio are now saying culling is a feature working exactly as intended? (within reviews from feedback in the future)
The reason I think it's important people know is that a lot of people have been waiting for a 'fix' and if it's not something you consider needs a fix then it follows that there isn't much chance of that.
I also wanted to say that I know you said you felt the company were transparent in those blogs perhaps the reason so many people feel let down is that they were quite vague, full of promise and encouraged our natural loyalty. Now I was, and may be in the future depending on what I see from Maxis, willing to give the studio the benefit of the doubt but I felt let down by the inference in interviews that sims customers are unreasonable and dismissing concerns by saying we expect EP content when the issue is I'm still waiting on a base that lives up to those blog promises pre release. I also felt let down that those blogs told us that you were excited for better communication with your customers. That then in reality translated into less communication post release.
As a customer the experience of how this whole situation has been handled has damaged my trust more than the disappointment of the game did. That's what bothers me most-the loyalty shown to your company over the years should be appreciated but also nurtured. Loyal customers are a great asset-and if people expect a lot from the studio it's because their body of work in the past has led to that which should be taken as a compliment in itself! A lot of the same staff are still with you and I'd like to know that they know that!
Perhaps for future reference there should be a communication that makes your customers feel valued for investing in TS4 despite the early issues and shows appreciation in a way that translates to your customers more effectively? A lot of people bought the base at premium price despite knowing the issues-that shows a lot of loyalty and trust in your studio. It would be nice if that was acknowledged and shown to be appreciated.
I hope that we never see a future with a base released in a manner like TS4 was again. But id hope that if we did there was an approach that clearly indicated that any improvements to the base would likely be in the distant future (if ever). I know the blogs were trying to sell the game-I understand that. But what I perceived as a customer from the language used didn't translate into the good experience I was expecting from Maxis.
I'd also hope that we never saw bans on review copies again either. If I'd had reviews to peruse before launch I would likely have waited for improvements because on release TS4 felt very, very bare-even more so than I'd expected given those blogs. The features missing didn't even scratch the surface.
Now I know you are new and a lot of what occurred to damage trust happened before you were even working with Maxis. I appreciate the work you have put in to try to get the studio communicating a tiny bit more and I think it's important you should know that. But I wanted to give you how *I* felt at the situation coming from someone who read those blogs and didn't consider them very very clear as you mentioned and why exactly that was so you can understand a root of the problem.
As for EA play? I don't think it's a big loss. Gamescom was awkward and I'd rather not feel that way again watching an announcement.
Well said! Thank you Spark for this comment.
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.
Hopping in here because it seems like there is a lot of misleading information being presented that I want to squash:
Please link to a source whenever you make any kind of statement. Do not simply state something as being factual without any information to back it up.
The Sims 4 is doing just fine. As many of you have noted from our financial report that The Sims 4 player base grew by nearly two-thirds in the fiscal year <<this is fact, not opinion (and before it gets asked: no I will not be providing any additional information that was not shared in our financial reports.)
Additionally: I am seeing this far too often here and I want to make it clear. Your personal opinions are not fact and should never be stated as such. Do not make statements about what you *think* is going on within studio and try to pass it off as being factual information. Do not make statements of what you *think* myself and the other SimGurus feel about the community or the game --you are not us. The SimGurus are people not a product and should be respected as individuals --this means that slamming the developers and making personal attacks towards them is not and will never be okay. The Sims 4 is a product and you are welcome to provide your opinions on said product whether it is negative or positive. The forums are a place for you to provide feedback / ideas, share your creations, and talk / debate with one another about The Sims 4 and the franchise as a whole --not a place for you to attack / slander / defame the people who work on it.
I'm happy to answer the questions that I can. I'm also changing the title of this thread as it is extremely misleading.
I have a few problems with this lecture. First and foremost, there is this little thing called the First Amendment that says we can state our opinions as fact. It's something that the Supreme Court has upheld over and over again. So I don't think a Community Manager gets to tells what we can and cannot post within reason. And besides it's completely unnecessary. For years on the TS3 boards people stated as fact that weather could not be written into the game. They had a ton of very good reasons all based in technology. Yet out came the Seasons expansion pack. It would seem that expressing an opinion a fact doesn't change what the developers are able to create. Nor were die hard Seasons fans in the least bit intimidated by all the opinion as fact stating. They asserted just as vehemently that it could be done. When it came out everyone bought it, so EA was better for it.
Second while I fully agree with the statement that the SimGurus should never be personally attacked and hope that all attacks are removed as soon as possible, I have to take exception to the use of the words "slander" and "defame". Those are legal terms and unless EA is planning to start suing users for slander or defamation, you should probably take your own advice and not use them nor should you accuse us of it.
Hopping in here because it seems like there is a lot of misleading information being presented that I want to squash:
Please link to a source whenever you make any kind of statement. Do not simply state something as being factual without any information to back it up.
The Sims 4 is doing just fine. As many of you have noted from our financial report that The Sims 4 player base grew by nearly two-thirds in the fiscal year <<this is fact, not opinion (and before it gets asked: no I will not be providing any additional information that was not shared in our financial reports.)
Additionally: I am seeing this far too often here and I want to make it clear. Your personal opinions are not fact and should never be stated as such. Do not make statements about what you *think* is going on within studio and try to pass it off as being factual information. Do not make statements of what you *think* myself and the other SimGurus feel about the community or the game --you are not us. The SimGurus are people not a product and should be respected as individuals --this means that slamming the developers and making personal attacks towards them is not and will never be okay. The Sims 4 is a product and you are welcome to provide your opinions on said product whether it is negative or positive. The forums are a place for you to provide feedback / ideas, share your creations, and talk / debate with one another about The Sims 4 and the franchise as a whole --not a place for you to attack / slander / defame the people who work on it.
I'm happy to answer the questions that I can. I'm also changing the title of this thread as it is extremely misleading.
I have a few problems with this lecture. First and foremost, there is this little thing called the First Amendment that says we can state our opinions as fact. It's something that the Supreme Court has upheld over and over again. So I don't think a Community Manager gets to tells what we can and cannot post within reason. And besides it's completely unnecessary. For years on the TS3 boards people stated as fact that weather could not be written into the game. They had a ton of very good reasons all based in technology. Yet out came the Seasons expansion pack. It would seem that expressing an opinion a fact doesn't change what the developers are able to create. Nor were die hard Seasons fans in the least bit intimidated by all the opinion as fact stating. They asserted just as vehemently that it could be done. When it came out everyone bought it, so EA was better for it.
Second while I fully agree with the statement that the SimGurus should never be personally attacked and hope that all attacks are removed as soon as possible, I have to take exception to the use of the words "slander" and "defame". Those are legal terms and unless EA is planning to start suing users for slander or defamation, you should probably take your own advice and not use them nor should you accuse us of it.
The Bill of Rights provides protection for individuals against government actions against freedom of speech and doesn't generally apply to private venues. A forum provided by a business is not government owned and isn't usually covered by the First Amendment. You can find a basic explanation about that here, about 1/3rd of the way down under "Do individuals have First Amendment rights on others’ private property?".
Origin ID: ebuchala I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
Hopping in here because it seems like there is a lot of misleading information being presented that I want to squash:
Please link to a source whenever you make any kind of statement. Do not simply state something as being factual without any information to back it up.
The Sims 4 is doing just fine. As many of you have noted from our financial report that The Sims 4 player base grew by nearly two-thirds in the fiscal year <<this is fact, not opinion (and before it gets asked: no I will not be providing any additional information that was not shared in our financial reports.)
Additionally: I am seeing this far too often here and I want to make it clear. Your personal opinions are not fact and should never be stated as such. Do not make statements about what you *think* is going on within studio and try to pass it off as being factual information. Do not make statements of what you *think* myself and the other SimGurus feel about the community or the game --you are not us. The SimGurus are people not a product and should be respected as individuals --this means that slamming the developers and making personal attacks towards them is not and will never be okay. The Sims 4 is a product and you are welcome to provide your opinions on said product whether it is negative or positive. The forums are a place for you to provide feedback / ideas, share your creations, and talk / debate with one another about The Sims 4 and the franchise as a whole --not a place for you to attack / slander / defame the people who work on it.
I'm happy to answer the questions that I can. I'm also changing the title of this thread as it is extremely misleading.
I have a few problems with this lecture. First and foremost, there is this little thing called the First Amendment that says we can state our opinions as fact. It's something that the Supreme Court has upheld over and over again. So I don't think a Community Manager gets to tells what we can and cannot post within reason. And besides it's completely unnecessary. For years on the TS3 boards people stated as fact that weather could not be written into the game. They had a ton of very good reasons all based in technology. Yet out came the Seasons expansion pack. It would seem that expressing an opinion a fact doesn't change what the developers are able to create. Nor were die hard Seasons fans in the least bit intimidated by all the opinion as fact stating. They asserted just as vehemently that it could be done. When it came out everyone bought it, so EA was better for it.
Second while I fully agree with the statement that the SimGurus should never be personally attacked and hope that all attacks are removed as soon as possible, I have to take exception to the use of the words "slander" and "defame". Those are legal terms and unless EA is planning to start suing users for slander or defamation, you should probably take your own advice and not use them nor should you accuse us of it.
The Bill of Rights provides protection for individuals against government actions against freedom of speech and doesn't generally apply to private venues. A forum provided by a business is not government owned and isn't usually covered by the First Amendment. You can find a basic explanation about that here, about 1/3rd of the way down under "Do individuals have First Amendment rights on others’ private property?".
Except that this is a public forum. The line is thin there but so far the courts have been supporting First Amendment rights on social media. They can remove things that violated their posted rules but they cannot tell us what we can and cannot think or say about their product. We can say, "Pets will never be added." if we want to. Doesn't make it true. They're welcome to rebut anything said here or clarify that opinions expressed here don't necessarily represent their views. But they can't say that we can't say it.
I'd also really love some further clarification on the relationship culling concern. My sims whims are still bugged - my married sims get frequent whims to get engaged to each other, get married, etc. It's been an issue in my game since GT and I assumed it was a side effect of relationship culling. I use a mod to bypass it (it doesn't fix the whims just the culling), but I'm very distressed to learn I may have to continue to use it.
Maybe the bug persists because my game is modded (?), but I haven't seen anything in the subsequent patch notes indicating the bug was addressed.
I love TS4, but seeing my sims friends become strangers, and not through relationship decay - I don't even know exactly how to express this other than to say it doesn't make sense to me for what the game is about. Especially considering the most recent expansion is so social in nature.
Hopping in here because it seems like there is a lot of misleading information being presented that I want to squash:
Please link to a source whenever you make any kind of statement. Do not simply state something as being factual without any information to back it up.
The Sims 4 is doing just fine. As many of you have noted from our financial report that The Sims 4 player base grew by nearly two-thirds in the fiscal year <<this is fact, not opinion (and before it gets asked: no I will not be providing any additional information that was not shared in our financial reports.)
Additionally: I am seeing this far too often here and I want to make it clear. Your personal opinions are not fact and should never be stated as such. Do not make statements about what you *think* is going on within studio and try to pass it off as being factual information. Do not make statements of what you *think* myself and the other SimGurus feel about the community or the game --you are not us. The SimGurus are people not a product and should be respected as individuals --this means that slamming the developers and making personal attacks towards them is not and will never be okay. The Sims 4 is a product and you are welcome to provide your opinions on said product whether it is negative or positive. The forums are a place for you to provide feedback / ideas, share your creations, and talk / debate with one another about The Sims 4 and the franchise as a whole --not a place for you to attack / slander / defame the people who work on it.
I'm happy to answer the questions that I can. I'm also changing the title of this thread as it is extremely misleading.
I have a few problems with this lecture. First and foremost, there is this little thing called the First Amendment that says we can state our opinions as fact. It's something that the Supreme Court has upheld over and over again. So I don't think a Community Manager gets to tells what we can and cannot post within reason. And besides it's completely unnecessary. For years on the TS3 boards people stated as fact that weather could not be written into the game. They had a ton of very good reasons all based in technology. Yet out came the Seasons expansion pack. It would seem that expressing an opinion a fact doesn't change what the developers are able to create. Nor were die hard Seasons fans in the least bit intimidated by all the opinion as fact stating. They asserted just as vehemently that it could be done. When it came out everyone bought it, so EA was better for it.
Second while I fully agree with the statement that the SimGurus should never be personally attacked and hope that all attacks are removed as soon as possible, I have to take exception to the use of the words "slander" and "defame". Those are legal terms and unless EA is planning to start suing users for slander or defamation, you should probably take your own advice and not use them nor should you accuse us of it.
The Bill of Rights provides protection for individuals against government actions against freedom of speech and doesn't generally apply to private venues. A forum provided by a business is not government owned and isn't usually covered by the First Amendment. You can find a basic explanation about that here, about 1/3rd of the way down under "Do individuals have First Amendment rights on others’ private property?".
Except that this is a public forum. The line is thin there but so far the courts have been supporting First Amendment rights on social media. They can remove things that violated their posted rules but they cannot tell us what we can and cannot think or say about their product. We can say, "Pets will never be added." if we want to. Doesn't make it true. They're welcome to rebut anything said here or clarify that opinions expressed here don't necessarily represent their views. But they can't say that we can't say it.
I don't doubt that courts have been supporting First Amendment rights on social media but those rights are designed to protect against government limiting that speech, not other individuals or organizations. A non-government organization is free to set whatever restrictions it desires on it's forums and I would assume that when a community manager posts a statement on the forum that says personal opinions are not facts and shouldn't be stated as such, that this statement can be understood as a restriction on what you can share. If @SimGuruDrake wants to clarify that this isn't the case, I'm also assuming she'll do so.
Origin ID: ebuchala I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
We do have the freedom of speech as long as we follow the forum rules. Like anywhere, you have to follow the laws of the land regardless of the Freedom of Speech.
About the first amendment: "Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. The freedom of speech is not absolute; the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are excluded from the freedom, and it has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech. Legal systems recognize limits on the freedom of speech, particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other values or rights. Limitations to freedom of speech may follow the "harm principle" or the "offense principle"" Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Limitations
I feel sad most people only remember part of the first amendment instead of the rest which are as follows. The full part reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Anyway enough of the history lesson. I am just glad there are forum rules to protect people. It makes me feel safer to post on forums sometimes. Otherwise it would be ultimate chaos on forums.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I've personally gone back to Sims 3 and am enjoying it very much. The Sims 4 just doesn't seem to have the same excitement as the previous games did (and still do). I mean, don't get me wrong, The Sims 4 can be addicting (which I've admitted myself), but that addiction only lasts so long. It's a game that you can only play for a few days or a couple weeks (if you're lucky) until things start getting too repetitive. Honestly, it's only worth playing when a new pack is released (preferably an expansion pack). But, once you've gone through all the content and features of a pack (which, to be honest, isn't a whole lot), the game starts to be boring again. This game doesn't have the same replay value as the others do. Especially since it's mostly goal oriented, unlike the other games, which were more about freedom and creativity.
That being said, what is EA even thinking? Do they want this game to fail or something? It doesn't even seem like they're trying anymore, sadly.
Comments
Yup found the Tiara, it was in the hair section, thanks.
If you read through you'll see a post by SimGuruDrake where she explains she changed the title because it was misleading.
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
Yes as soon as I made the comment I scrolled up and read what happened.
Some comments are missing too I see. Ones that I didn't think were offensive. But oh well.
@SimGuruDrake can you clarify re the culling. Because we've had a few different comments from Gurus so I think it's something that we needs to be cleared up.
First we heard culling was working as intended as you say. Then we had another Guru saying (I'm pretty sure in response to a thread here somewhere ages ago) that you knew there were issues and were looking to address it so a lot of people thought that meant it was bugged and it would be addressed.
Now it seems we are back to 'its working as intended'. I know the team slightly increased the limit around GT but is it the case that the studio are now saying culling is a feature working exactly as intended? (within reviews from feedback in the future)
The reason I think it's important people know is that a lot of people have been waiting for a 'fix' and if it's not something you consider needs a fix then it follows that there isn't much chance of that.
I also wanted to say that I know you said you felt the company were transparent in those blogs perhaps the reason so many people feel let down is that they were quite vague, full of promise and encouraged our natural loyalty. Now I was, and may be in the future depending on what I see from Maxis, willing to give the studio the benefit of the doubt but I felt let down by the inference in interviews that sims customers are unreasonable and dismissing concerns by saying we expect EP content when the issue is I'm still waiting on a base that lives up to those blog promises pre release. I also felt let down that those blogs told us that you were excited for better communication with your customers. That then in reality translated into less communication post release.
As a customer the experience of how this whole situation has been handled has damaged my trust more than the disappointment of the game did. That's what bothers me most-the loyalty shown to your company over the years should be appreciated but also nurtured. Loyal customers are a great asset-and if people expect a lot from the studio it's because their body of work in the past has led to that which should be taken as a compliment in itself! A lot of the same staff are still with you and I'd like to know that they know that!
Perhaps for future reference there should be a communication that makes your customers feel valued for investing in TS4 despite the early issues and shows appreciation in a way that translates to your customers more effectively? A lot of people bought the base at premium price despite knowing the issues-that shows a lot of loyalty and trust in your studio. It would be nice if that was acknowledged and shown to be appreciated.
I hope that we never see a future with a base released in a manner like TS4 was again. But id hope that if we did there was an approach that clearly indicated that any improvements to the base would likely be in the distant future (if ever). I know the blogs were trying to sell the game-I understand that. But what I perceived as a customer from the language used didn't translate into the good experience I was expecting from Maxis.
I'd also hope that we never saw bans on review copies again either. If I'd had reviews to peruse before launch I would likely have waited for improvements because on release TS4 felt very, very bare-even more so than I'd expected given those blogs. The features missing didn't even scratch the surface.
Now I know you are new and a lot of what occurred to damage trust happened before you were even working with Maxis. I appreciate the work you have put in to try to get the studio communicating a tiny bit more and I think it's important you should know that. But I wanted to give you how *I* felt at the situation coming from someone who read those blogs and didn't consider them very very clear as you mentioned and why exactly that was so you can understand a root of the problem.
As for EA play? I don't think it's a big loss. Gamescom was awkward and I'd rather not feel that way again watching an announcement.
https://twitter.com/sparkfairy1
And the two new Easter Eggs to go with the ones we had last year. We can still pull them from buydebug.
True and I bet it adds a lot more then just restuarents.
Be careful with your expectations, that's something we must have learned by now, right? ;-)
That's too bad. I wanted another Rachel "You Rule" Franklin dance party
OUTER SENSHI PRIDE
Well said! Thank you Spark for this comment.
I have a few problems with this lecture. First and foremost, there is this little thing called the First Amendment that says we can state our opinions as fact. It's something that the Supreme Court has upheld over and over again. So I don't think a Community Manager gets to tells what we can and cannot post within reason. And besides it's completely unnecessary. For years on the TS3 boards people stated as fact that weather could not be written into the game. They had a ton of very good reasons all based in technology. Yet out came the Seasons expansion pack. It would seem that expressing an opinion a fact doesn't change what the developers are able to create. Nor were die hard Seasons fans in the least bit intimidated by all the opinion as fact stating. They asserted just as vehemently that it could be done. When it came out everyone bought it, so EA was better for it.
Second while I fully agree with the statement that the SimGurus should never be personally attacked and hope that all attacks are removed as soon as possible, I have to take exception to the use of the words "slander" and "defame". Those are legal terms and unless EA is planning to start suing users for slander or defamation, you should probably take your own advice and not use them nor should you accuse us of it.
The Bill of Rights provides protection for individuals against government actions against freedom of speech and doesn't generally apply to private venues. A forum provided by a business is not government owned and isn't usually covered by the First Amendment. You can find a basic explanation about that here, about 1/3rd of the way down under "Do individuals have First Amendment rights on others’ private property?".
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
Except that this is a public forum. The line is thin there but so far the courts have been supporting First Amendment rights on social media. They can remove things that violated their posted rules but they cannot tell us what we can and cannot think or say about their product. We can say, "Pets will never be added." if we want to. Doesn't make it true. They're welcome to rebut anything said here or clarify that opinions expressed here don't necessarily represent their views. But they can't say that we can't say it.
Maybe the bug persists because my game is modded (?), but I haven't seen anything in the subsequent patch notes indicating the bug was addressed.
I love TS4, but seeing my sims friends become strangers, and not through relationship decay - I don't even know exactly how to express this other than to say it doesn't make sense to me for what the game is about. Especially considering the most recent expansion is so social in nature.
Twitter: @byscreenside
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I don't doubt that courts have been supporting First Amendment rights on social media but those rights are designed to protect against government limiting that speech, not other individuals or organizations. A non-government organization is free to set whatever restrictions it desires on it's forums and I would assume that when a community manager posts a statement on the forum that says personal opinions are not facts and shouldn't be stated as such, that this statement can be understood as a restriction on what you can share. If @SimGuruDrake wants to clarify that this isn't the case, I'm also assuming she'll do so.
I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath. Reaper
About the first amendment: "Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws. The freedom of speech is not absolute; the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are excluded from the freedom, and it has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech. Legal systems recognize limits on the freedom of speech, particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other values or rights. Limitations to freedom of speech may follow the "harm principle" or the "offense principle"" Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Limitations
I feel sad most people only remember part of the first amendment instead of the rest which are as follows. The full part reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Anyway enough of the history lesson. I am just glad there are forum rules to protect people. It makes me feel safer to post on forums sometimes. Otherwise it would be ultimate chaos on forums.
That being said, what is EA even thinking? Do they want this game to fail or something? It doesn't even seem like they're trying anymore, sadly.
Sims 1: Hot Date
Sims 2: Seasons
Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
Sims 3: Seasons
Sims 3: 70's, 80's, & 90's Stuff
Sims 4: Seasons
Sims 4: Paranormal Stuff
Sims 4: Strangerville Game Pack