Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
Perhaps I'm in an argumentative mood. I wasn't impressed with the gif teaser. I've stated that I'd prefer a video. They've said they're learning. All things take time, including the teasers. From the teaser I got:-
There was an SP coming in the quarter from July to September.
It was garden/yard based.
There was going to be a windmill at some point.
There was going to be lemonade
I didn't pick either the nanny or the bird feeder, but there we are.
In the long as heck thread based on it, it was clarified that there was no hints in it to toddlers, pets or seasons. (Since I know they don't really do hints anymore I didn't take it as any).
It was clarified that if there was an EP coming (or any other pack) in this quarter it would be included in the teaser.
People couldn't seem to wrap their heads around that there was only an SP coming in paid content in three months. There still seems to be issues with this, imho. For some strange reason this and the way that they now deliver the quarter teasers and no news of upcoming content outside of it causes, for whatever reason, blind panic. No set release pattern adds to the panic.
As to why people complain, I could write you out a whole list, which at least 80 - 90% would be accurate, but what it truly amounts to is some people felt disappointed by the game since the get go. They haven't fixed what people have felt disappointed by (for the most part), therefore the same people are still disappointed, so no matter what they complain, because they're not illustrating that they're going to fix what they were disappointed by.
Please note: I'm not saying there's any right or wrong on any part, or that anybody or their thoughts, feelings and opinions are either.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
But we do know what's going on. Sim Guru Drake has said numerous times that paid content can only be discussed in the quarter in which it will be released. We have had the teaser and paid content releases for the current quarter. The next announcement for paid content will come in the next quarter. The next quarter begins in October. So we know there will be no further information on paid content until October.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
The ignoring part is how the community is feeling since day one. We have been asking for so many VITAL stuff and still nothing. And yet we still don't know what the next EP is, so we still do not know if EA will finally after more than TWO years add what the community is asking for the most. Yes, I will just say it: Toddlers. No, I am not saying everyone wants Toddlers, but I am confident enough to say that Toddlers IS in fact the most requested thing since day one. It's everywhere, Twitter, Facebook, LiveStreams, Forums, Articles on gaming websites, it's everywhere.
How many times do we have to communicate with the team what we want? Yet we get random stuff, which makes a lot of us feel ignored. TWO years of asking, waiting, silence, vague responses (if any response at all).
This game is almost going to hit it's TWO years mark, and we are still left in the dark about the most vital issues. This game has issues, there is no one can deny that, but more important is: what is the team going to do with it? Will they leave us hanging until it's ''game over'' (years down the line)? or will they show us with EP03 that in fact they really do care, and it's going to be the thing we have been waiting for since day one?
I remember SimGuruRyan saying one thing:
And while we recognize that some of you will be disappointed that pools and toddlers won’t be available when The Sims 4 Base Game launches in September, you should know that we’re building an incredibly strong foundation that is capable of fulfilling every one of your desires in the years to come. The future of The Sims 4 is bright!
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
I think with EP2, all the problems stemmed from that nobody wanted Get Together as the next EP, as well as that clubs needed a lot more explanation to make sense, so leaving us hanging for a while in that specific case was pretty bad. Many of us wanted Generations, Pets, or Seasons, and we were let down. I think Get Together might have still had tons of backlash regardless of when it was revealed. If Pets were EP3 for example, I think just showing a short clip of dogs and cats running by sims in the park would go over much better than the Gamescom reveal for Get Together. It'd be crystal clear as to what we're getting and we wouldn't be confused for months. Some themes are just easier to sum up in a few words than others, although I wonder if any future EP could be as difficult to sum up in a few words as Get Together, even new themes that haven't been done in past games.
As for the quarterly teasers, it's only the July one that I think was too vague. The first quarterly teaser was great, I think some people were just expecting more because we were coming out of a long period with no news.
Great idea or if it s a vacation pack sims playing in the ocean.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
I understand that it's hard to juggle the different pack announcements and releases while balancing community hype and community frustration. I also understand that there are plenty of things I don't (and never will) understand about how TS4 is developed and marketed, as I don't work at EA. My point is that...no matter how you defend it, it's still not working. I'm not saying your points are invalid, I'm just saying that it's almost irrelevant to the core issue. If you guys are having all of these issues and the community is upset and there really isn't anything you can do about it, maybe the EP/SP/GP structure itself isn't working.
No matter how valid your side of it is, no matter how you justify the strategy, people are confused and frustrated in the end. Something is wrong here, and I still believe that it's due to a lack of straightforward communication. We've spent two years waiting desperately for toddlers (for example) and we've gotten no word on it. You have to understand how difficult that is on our end and how shady it makes EA seem. We don't know anything and we don't know WHY we don't know anything, so we are left to over-analyze and assume the worst. Even if there are valid reasons for keeping us in the dark, the consequence of that is negative: we grow resentful and disheartened.
I hope you know what I'm trying to say and it's not coming off as rude. I'm super tired right now so it's hard to write clearly, but I just want to note that the reason I'm sitting here as a twenty-two year old writing this stuff is because I care deeply about The Sims franchise.
I'm not saying I have a solution, I'm just saying that I hope you realize (as I have recently realized) that the issue isn't one-sided. It's not EA's fault, and it's not our fault. EA isn't being lazy, and fans aren't being ungrateful. The strategy, as a whole, is simply ineffective.
Thank you for engaging with us and reading our comments and taking them seriously.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
I understand that it's hard to juggle the different pack announcements and releases while balancing community hype and community frustration. I also understand that there are plenty of things I don't (and never will) understand about how TS4 is developed and marketed, as I don't work at EA. My point is that...no matter how you defend it, it's still not working. I'm not saying your points are invalid, I'm just saying that it's almost irrelevant to the core issue. If you guys are having all of these issues and the community is upset and there really isn't anything you can do about it, maybe the EP/SP/GP structure itself isn't working.
No matter how valid your side of it is, no matter how you justify the strategy, people are confused and frustrated in the end. Something is wrong here, and I still believe that it's due to a lack of straightforward communication. We've spent two years waiting desperately for toddlers (for example) and we've gotten no word on it. You have to understand how difficult that is on our end and how shady it makes EA seem. We don't know anything and we don't know WHY we don't know anything, so we are left to over-analyze and assume the worst. Even if there are valid reasons for keeping us in the dark, the consequence of that is negative: we grow resentful and disheartened.
I hope you know what I'm trying to say and it's not coming off as rude. I'm super tired right now so it's hard to write clearly, but I just want to note that the reason I'm sitting here as a twenty-two year old writing this stuff is because I care deeply about The Sims franchise.
I'm not saying I have a solution, I'm just saying that I hope you realize (as I have recently realized) that the issue isn't one-sided. It's not EA's fault, and it's not our fault. EA isn't being lazy, and fans aren't being ungrateful. The strategy, as a whole, is simply ineffective.
Thank you for engaging with us and reading our comments and taking them seriously.
No I don't think it s a failure. I like getting the teasers now.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
I hope the team and EA in general understand that EPs are what keeps a Sims game alive and the buyers willing to put up with the prices for little additions. I know they are more costly in production than SPs and GPS and therefore it might seem more attractive for EA to produce a lot of little content and direct less people to work on EPs like in the past.. but they really need to start thinking more sustainable in regard to how you keep your fans engaged and therefore happy to open their wallet for an AAA title like Sims 4.
Honestly, it has to be hard to create something great for us Simmers. They want to make sure when they do announce something it will be good. I'm sure they are trying, and have the added challenge with the new engine to work with. In reality they are people too, working and trying to make something spectacular for us. They get paid, but most have a passion just like us and want to impress us. Like painting a work of art. Hopefully, they want it to be a masterpiece. I get it though, I love the Sims and am also ready for new EPs. It's in good hands, and I'll do my best to be patient, even when it is most difficult to do so. Thanks Sims team, I know you all are trying to bring the best you can to us gamers. I really do still believe in this game, even though I've been waiting for a Superstar remake since Sims 1, haha. I can't wait to see the future of Sims whatever it may be.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
I understand that it's hard to juggle the different pack announcements and releases while balancing community hype and community frustration. I also understand that there are plenty of things I don't (and never will) understand about how TS4 is developed and marketed, as I don't work at EA. My point is that...no matter how you defend it, it's still not working. I'm not saying your points are invalid, I'm just saying that it's almost irrelevant to the core issue. If you guys are having all of these issues and the community is upset and there really isn't anything you can do about it, maybe the EP/SP/GP structure itself isn't working.
No matter how valid your side of it is, no matter how you justify the strategy, people are confused and frustrated in the end. Something is wrong here, and I still believe that it's due to a lack of straightforward communication. We've spent two years waiting desperately for toddlers (for example) and we've gotten no word on it. You have to understand how difficult that is on our end and how shady it makes EA seem. We don't know anything and we don't know WHY we don't know anything, so we are left to over-analyze and assume the worst. Even if there are valid reasons for keeping us in the dark, the consequence of that is negative: we grow resentful and disheartened.
I hope you know what I'm trying to say and it's not coming off as rude. I'm super tired right now so it's hard to write clearly, but I just want to note that the reason I'm sitting here as a twenty-two year old writing this stuff is because I care deeply about The Sims franchise.
I'm not saying I have a solution, I'm just saying that I hope you realize (as I have recently realized) that the issue isn't one-sided. It's not EA's fault, and it's not our fault. EA isn't being lazy, and fans aren't being ungrateful. The strategy, as a whole, is simply ineffective.
Thank you for engaging with us and reading our comments and taking them seriously.
I do agree with this to some extent. I think what is the most frustrating thing is that even two years later, majority of Simmers still don't know what the vision of the Sims 4 is even supposed to be about. I don't know, the whole way the game has been handled has been confusing and frustrating. It has pretty much been a take it or leave it approach I guess. There are some things like culling and relationship culling and relationship decay that should have been told to the community through patch notes or some other means. I mean those are big game issues that effect people's stories and play styles.
I like the teaser trailers in video form. I didn't like the gif teaser. I wouldn't mind a slide show teaser if it is for a small pack like a SP. I really can't judge too harshly on the teasers since I was one of the Simmers that suggested it, so it will be like I fail at even suggesting it if it fails which I'm hoping it doesn't.
@SimGuruDrake Aww, that was part of the fun was figuring out the patterns. Like mentioning how many game play objects were in SP to SimGuruGraham. If I didn't he wouldn't have broken the pattern with Backyard Stuff. I do think packs are setting a predictable pattern personally, but probably just my mathematical mind working. I'm a bit confused by it though, didn't Gurus state they like speculation, so is there anything wrong with speculating over pack patterns?
I am confused about this part, "Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready." Isn't that already happening? I mean there isn't anywhere online I have found that hasn't avoided asking about features that don't exist. Kind of weird thinking pack teams are competitive with each other. I always thought they worked as a team and it didn't matter if Simmers preferred certain themes or packs over others. I don't know I guess that logic works with the buy now strategy with short term satisfaction that microtransaction markets present. I guess I think that way when purchasing products. I've never been a rash spender in all my years of Simming. Honestly only time I've played a pack the same month it was released was the pack you kindly gifted to me. Other than that, I tend to wait for sales before deciding to purchase. Sorry, I don't mean to question you on this, I'm just a bit confused so need some clarification. I still have huge respect for you. I just wish that long-term satisfaction was met with packs I guess. It feels like Simmers are easily bored after a week or so with SPs, after a little over a month with GPs, and about three months after an EP just from my observation on forums. I don't know what it is other than the Sims 4 generally needing that depth with dark and group styles. So far packs have been generally sugar coated happiness with no consequences and focused more towards young adults. It is a pattern set by the Sims 4 so far and I don't know what it is going to take to break the shallowness the Sims 4 has set. It is almost like this iteration is mimicking a sitcom show rather than being a life simulator. So I don't know how you are going to convey that to the team, but I hope it makes sense and yes you'll probably have to sugar coat my observation of where the Sims 4 is heading since I tend to be honest to a fault. It's really hard because it feels like how the community feels and how the Gurus feels towards the Sims 4 can be on two complete playing fields. I think some Simmer said, what is projected on the development side might not convey well on the player side. So there may be some cool features being developed that may not be received as well while playing. I'm probably over complicating trying to understand the whole Sims 4 experience from so many different Simmers that play so many different ways. I just know that some are happy, some have mixed feelings, and some have been utterly disappointed with the Sims 4 so far. I just don't know how Maxis is going to break that pattern, but surprise me if you can.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
It's been two years and the game feels almost like a base game. EP1 and EP2 were completely disappointing, EP3 is missing as far as we know (kidnapping?) and the team seems to be focused on provide pointless stuff packs that nobody requested. That's my main issue with this game and its communication right know: you try to be more open with those teasers, and it's great you tried, but they only thing they show is how you're still focusing on your vision, rather than your players' vision and desires.
I've been playing The Sims since 2001 - 2002 and, honestly, I never felt so angry with the franchise (Even with The Sims 3 I were happier, and that game were full of issues) I feel you want to attract a new type of players, which I think is great, but at the same time you're completely ignoring the long-time franchise supporters. Those like me, who had played and bought every single Sims game.
I always thought why you made those decision, and I think it's because you guys don't have a clear path. You try to please everybody but, at the end, no one is totally pleased. If you really care about The Sims, ask your fanbase, ask them for ideas, for feedback on upcoming packs, create an UserVoice suggestions page... I don't care about teasers, they only show that you want to impose your vision to the players, and not everybody want your vision.
Almost two years after the launch, and the game is still empty for some people. And I was a Sims 4 supporter, but I'm tired of this.
The changes came slowly at first. Most didn't realize, or didn't care, and accepted them. They chose a comfortable life.
I would completely understand if Drake were at her wit's end dealing with some of us; Although I know very, very, very little about what is involved in making a video game, I do appreciate how difficult and complex it must be.
I too an anxious for more news and releases, and while I think a lot of us here (the whole community, not specifically this thread) appreciate how hard the sims team works, I do think there are some of us, who for whatever reason, simply don't.
I think some of us don't give Drake and the other Gurus the credit they deserve.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
The ignoring part is how the community is feeling since day one. We have been asking for so many VITAL stuff and still nothing. And yet we still don't know what the next EP is, so we still do not know if EA will finally after more than TWO years add what the community is asking for the most. Yes, I will just say it: Toddlers. No, I am not saying everyone wants Toddlers, but I am confident enough to say that Toddlers IS in fact the most requested thing since day one. It's everywhere, Twitter, Facebook, LiveStreams, Forums, Articles on gaming websites, it's everywhere.
How many times do we have to communicate with the team what we want? Yet we get random stuff, which makes a lot of us feel ignored. TWO years of asking, waiting, silence, vague responses (if any response at all).
This game is almost going to hit it's TWO years mark, and we are still left in the dark about the most vital issues. This game has issues, there is no one can deny that, but more important is: what is the team going to do with it? Will they leave us hanging until it's ''game over'' (years down the line)? or will they show us with EP03 that in fact they really do care, and it's going to be the thing we have been waiting for since day one?
I remember SimGuruRyan saying one thing:
And while we recognize that some of you will be disappointed that pools and toddlers won’t be available when The Sims 4 Base Game launches in September, you should know that we’re building an incredibly strong foundation that is capable of fulfilling every one of your desires in the years to come. The future of The Sims 4 is bright!
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
I understand that it's hard to juggle the different pack announcements and releases while balancing community hype and community frustration. I also understand that there are plenty of things I don't (and never will) understand about how TS4 is developed and marketed, as I don't work at EA. My point is that...no matter how you defend it, it's still not working. I'm not saying your points are invalid, I'm just saying that it's almost irrelevant to the core issue. If you guys are having all of these issues and the community is upset and there really isn't anything you can do about it, maybe the EP/SP/GP structure itself isn't working.
No matter how valid your side of it is, no matter how you justify the strategy, people are confused and frustrated in the end. Something is wrong here, and I still believe that it's due to a lack of straightforward communication. We've spent two years waiting desperately for toddlers (for example) and we've gotten no word on it. You have to understand how difficult that is on our end and how shady it makes EA seem. We don't know anything and we don't know WHY we don't know anything, so we are left to over-analyze and assume the worst. Even if there are valid reasons for keeping us in the dark, the consequence of that is negative: we grow resentful and disheartened.
I hope you know what I'm trying to say and it's not coming off as rude. I'm super tired right now so it's hard to write clearly, but I just want to note that the reason I'm sitting here as a twenty-two year old writing this stuff is because I care deeply about The Sims franchise.
I'm not saying I have a solution, I'm just saying that I hope you realize (as I have recently realized) that the issue isn't one-sided. It's not EA's fault, and it's not our fault. EA isn't being lazy, and fans aren't being ungrateful. The strategy, as a whole, is simply ineffective.
Thank you for engaging with us and reading our comments and taking them seriously.
Anyone who has seen me knows I'm a defender of The Sims 4 but at this point you're just losing another fan, I'm really disappointed in the amount of secrecy and lack of announcements, even just teaser pictures or an actual Q&A with the forums that actually gives us info would be nice. But we don't get anything, the last GP was in December 2015 and December 2016 is only a few months away. At this point TS3 had already had World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Pets, and Generations out. We only have 2 EPs and like 50 stuff packs nobody really asked for, yeah they're nice, but not that nice if we don't have anything else to go off. Sims Freeplay is getting more updates than us and they're free. Like I said, I've always been a defender of TS4 through thick and thin but at this point I'm feeling cowardice from the team and EA because people aren't happy with what they're doing and they're ashamed to announce anything. I think at this point I'm just done with the game, nothing exciting is being brought to it, and it hurts me to say because I've been a supporter since 2005, and there's a lot more things others and myself would much rather spend our money on.
But thank you @simgurudrake for telling us, it means a lot and I know you're trying your best to give us as much info as allotted.
I completely understand that the community wants news. However, compared to where we were this time last year we have been becoming more open and transparent as much as we are able--we have also informed the community about what paid content to expect within a quarter that way you are more prepared for when there is down time. We've also stated repeatedly that we aren't treating TS4 like it's predecessors with regards to any pattern of releases and we've also introduced Game Packs (which I know are still a thing that players are getting used to.) We also work all in house now rather than having two different studios in two different locations. Things are much more streamlined now than in the past (Graham does a great job of explaining that here: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/893117/live-service-explained )
Sims Freeplay is a mobile game that works on a Free to Play model, is on a different development schedule, and is a completely different team. They have one type of content that they have to worry about which is updates. We are a PC title that works on three different types of pack content along with engagement features and patches to fix issues. So the comparison is apples to oranges.
We aren't ashamed to announce anything, I've actually been very excited about sharing the stuff we have shown so far and have not hidden my enthusiasm for them from any of you. We would rather do a full reveal of a product when we can continue talking about it from that moment on wards rather than say something and then disappear. An example of this is last year with EP2, there were a lot of conversations in the forums about lack of updates between Gamescom tease reveal and when we could do the full on reveal. Also, and most of this stems from the quarterly teaser reactions, but I'm having trouble understanding the want for a tease with pictures when we already have complaints about the quarterly tease not giving enough information because it is a tease.
What I've said above in no way means that I don't appreciate that everyone wants to know what is coming down the pipeline as far as content, I 100% understand the passion and enthusiasm you have for the game and that it's hard for the community to understand game development and how it works when you aren't actually working in the studio --I know Graham has definitely tried to at least explain the process from the SP side of things. You've already seen this year the hard work that our engagement team has been doing with their free updates and what the SP and GP teams have been doing with their content--know that the EP team is hard at work as well.
Unfortunately, I think you're still missing the point. I understand the issue: whatever EA does, people complain. They announced EP2 early and people complained that they weren’t getting any updates. What EA doesn’t seem to understand, however, is that people are complaining because they are confused. After The Sims 4 was released, EA stated that they would be announcing content pretty close to release. When they announced Get Together well in advance of the release, people were confused. They changed up their communications strategy without telling anyone.
The problem isn’t the strategy…the problem is that they don’t communicate their strategy. It’s constantly changing and always unclear. With the latest seasonal teaser, people were speculating about seasons and generations EPs, because the teaser was vague. It didn’t properly communicate that Backyard Stuff was the only content coming out this season.
We just need to know what’s going on. It’s not that hard. EA just needs to say, “Hey guys! We are officially announcing the theme of EP3! It’s _______. Expect more info in a few months.” If they EA tells fans about an impending news drought in advance, no one will be confused or angry when it arrives. We’ll be expecting it. Ahh, the magic of communication.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
In a way when i read this i read out that you are REALY angry at us or at the omnes that dont get it! I personly wasnt confused by the last teaser( it didnt teas EP 3 so we wont get EP 3 till Fall or Winter) I understand why the Gurus aculy area afraid to talk to us! Most of us are just mean evil lil plumbs since TS2 days
I'd hardly call that teaser in July a teaser but that's my opinion .I guess a picture thing is better than nothing
well i could see the pic teaser version happening with simple stuff! Stuff like Restaurants, Kids or Seasons could be Videoteaser form becaus tehr a bit more complex
In a way when i read this i read out that you are REALY angry at us or at the omnes that dont get it! I personly wasnt confused by the last teaser( it didnt teas EP 3 so we wont get EP 3 till Fall or Winter) I understand why the Gurus aculy area afraid to talk to us! Most of us are just mean evil lil plumbs since TS2 days
Not angry at anyone I just prefer that when someone is attempting to have a serious conversation with me I give them the respect they deserve by replying as directly as I can without any "sunshine and rainbows and smiles" thrown in. Most of my interaction is pretty lighthearted but in this case the individual I responded to deserved a serious and honest discourse, not me using tons of smileys and gifs that would've made it seem that I was mocking them.
I compare the Sims 4 to going to a favorite restaurant that I am quite familiar with because I have been going there for 16 years and know what to expect - only to find suddenly they decided to change things up - with no good explanations for why they are doing so. As if that is not bad enough, in my view as a long time patron of this particular restaurant, as well as all my many reasons for loving the ambiance of this restaurant in particular, I soon discover even more to my disliking. Instead of me getting that certain meal I actually came there to eat, I find myself endlessly waiting for my meal to be served and in the meantime I keep getting served numerous side dishes, various courses - one after the other; which of course may all be pleasant to look at and even taste scrumptious - the fact remains I am still sitting there waiting for the dinner I had planned on eating to begin with, only to find out they must have eliminated the main course, as they just never bring it nor say they won't be serving it either. Makes you feel pretty deceived.
In that same vein of thought - the meal and main course is "THE Sims". You know the little pixel people these series is ALL ABOUT. The Sims - the mom, the dad, the whole family from infant to grandparents. I don't care which number of the series one picks - the one and most obvious thing that is usually a given in a game called THE SIMS is the Sims - first and foremost. Without the little pixel people you do not even have a game is my point. And for the last 11 plus years of the game the Sims has included all main point life stages of these little characters - so when a life stage and the play surrounding that life stage is missing suddenly from this new rendition of this series - it makes everything about the game seem incomplete.
Unfortunately when many of us have tried to explain this, we get misconstrued as to actually wanting the complete game with all it's bells and whistles - when that is not at all what we have been asking for. Many of us were just first and foremost expecting to have all our little people in the game when the game came out with the basic equipment and play in place with these little people. We never expected the base game to come with everything - even though I am sure some people might have liked to see more in a base game - many of us vets of the game knew that is not the way the Sims games worked and expected the normal eps, sps, and what ever else the studio had in mind - but many of us were more than just a little shocked when for no good reason we can see after 11 years of having all these life stages to get one (the toddler) totally eliminated and another (the teen) made to look just like YA's and adults - never mind act nearly the same. But at least the teen stage was still in the game which seemed to somewhat satisfy some of the Simmers - but to eliminate what some of us consider a major part of our game play was to me anyway rather unthinkable seeing I find I cannot at all even try to enjoy this game with them missing. It is like having a favorite meal and them eliminating that particular part of the main course. You just feel unsatisfied and never happy with the meal no matter how wonderful everything else is.
Really how would anyone enjoy saying going to a pizza or taco restaurant and getting served everything but the pizza or taco you came there for to start with - never mind also getting no upfront declaration, or even any explanation. You simply leave still feeling empty and unhappy.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Getting back to talk about Gamescon, etc. -- remember when The Sims franchise was a big deal at things like Gamescon and E3? It isn't any more. It's practically non-existent. Maybe that's just the way the market and marketing are going, but I can tell you where my gaming dollars are going in the next six months: Dishonored 2. Civilization 6. Planet Coaster. Those games are doing what game franchises should do -- take what went before, keep the best parts, improve what could be improved, and toss what didn't work. Oh, and have graphics that look like 2016 instead of 1999 and keep fans informed along the way.
Please announce an expansion since Graham said that the advertisement of content of payment does not concern the release date the only thing that we love the simmers it is to know of that it goes to topic goes to treat the next expansion since we go almost 10 months without knowing anything of expansions
I love the quarterly teasers. I think some people were just upset because they were hoping for an expansion pack this quarter.
Pretty much. Also came to a shock how EPs in general will be released for this iteration of being more rare than in the past. I mean GPs and SPs are great and all, but they don't always allow the room for some of the big features that Simmers crave. So not sure if patches will start filling in the gaps of new maps and life states that EPs used to fill. I mean Sims 3 released 11 EPs which was huge, then knowing that the Sims 4 will probably release only half than that was a huge wake up call.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I was really happy with the first teaser, but I was disappointed with the second one. I just like to have a video of like even 15 seconds instead of just a picture.
Comments
Perhaps I'm in an argumentative mood. I wasn't impressed with the gif teaser. I've stated that I'd prefer a video. They've said they're learning. All things take time, including the teasers. From the teaser I got:-
There was an SP coming in the quarter from July to September.
It was garden/yard based.
There was going to be a windmill at some point.
There was going to be lemonade
I didn't pick either the nanny or the bird feeder, but there we are.
In the long as heck thread based on it, it was clarified that there was no hints in it to toddlers, pets or seasons. (Since I know they don't really do hints anymore I didn't take it as any).
It was clarified that if there was an EP coming (or any other pack) in this quarter it would be included in the teaser.
People couldn't seem to wrap their heads around that there was only an SP coming in paid content in three months. There still seems to be issues with this, imho. For some strange reason this and the way that they now deliver the quarter teasers and no news of upcoming content outside of it causes, for whatever reason, blind panic. No set release pattern adds to the panic.
As to why people complain, I could write you out a whole list, which at least 80 - 90% would be accurate, but what it truly amounts to is some people felt disappointed by the game since the get go. They haven't fixed what people have felt disappointed by (for the most part), therefore the same people are still disappointed, so no matter what they complain, because they're not illustrating that they're going to fix what they were disappointed by.
Please note: I'm not saying there's any right or wrong on any part, or that anybody or their thoughts, feelings and opinions are either.
But we do know what's going on. Sim Guru Drake has said numerous times that paid content can only be discussed in the quarter in which it will be released. We have had the teaser and paid content releases for the current quarter. The next announcement for paid content will come in the next quarter. The next quarter begins in October. So we know there will be no further information on paid content until October.
I see things much more clearly than I think most are giving me credit for and I'll use your scenario as an example:
If we said that statement in April then how many of you would care about the Game Pack announcement/release? The Stuff Pack announcements/releases? The CAS Update? Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready.
You wanted to know about the EPs earlier so we gave you that last year with EP2 and the community wasn't satisfied with having to wait for information. You asked for the teasers to prepare yourselves for upcoming content and so you could prepare for times when there wouldn't be as many paid releases--we give you that and you still say we haven't communicated. I'm aware some may say that I'm trying to place blame and I'm not, I'm showing you how in order for communication to work others have to be willing to listen. We listen and we try to communicate in the way you ask within the boundaries we have to work in and it still is taken as us not listening or us not being open.
A couple examples: We stated in clear blue text "New Stuff Pack coming to The Sims 4." << how was that in anyway stating that there was going to be an EP coming this quarter much less any other paid content when it was the only paid content shown? We tell you repeatedly that there is no pattern for how we release content--you try and say that X type of content is coming this month because of a pattern we had already told you didn't exist.
As far as a "news drought" that isn't really an accurate statement considering we have patches every month that have added in challenges, free content, and fixes.
Repose en paix mamie tu va me manquer :
1923-2016 mamie
The ignoring part is how the community is feeling since day one. We have been asking for so many VITAL stuff and still nothing. And yet we still don't know what the next EP is, so we still do not know if EA will finally after more than TWO years add what the community is asking for the most. Yes, I will just say it: Toddlers. No, I am not saying everyone wants Toddlers, but I am confident enough to say that Toddlers IS in fact the most requested thing since day one. It's everywhere, Twitter, Facebook, LiveStreams, Forums, Articles on gaming websites, it's everywhere.
How many times do we have to communicate with the team what we want? Yet we get random stuff, which makes a lot of us feel ignored. TWO years of asking, waiting, silence, vague responses (if any response at all).
This game is almost going to hit it's TWO years mark, and we are still left in the dark about the most vital issues. This game has issues, there is no one can deny that, but more important is: what is the team going to do with it? Will they leave us hanging until it's ''game over'' (years down the line)? or will they show us with EP03 that in fact they really do care, and it's going to be the thing we have been waiting for since day one?
I remember SimGuruRyan saying one thing:
Well, still wishing, still waiting TWO years later.
Great idea or if it s a vacation pack sims playing in the ocean.
I understand that it's hard to juggle the different pack announcements and releases while balancing community hype and community frustration. I also understand that there are plenty of things I don't (and never will) understand about how TS4 is developed and marketed, as I don't work at EA. My point is that...no matter how you defend it, it's still not working. I'm not saying your points are invalid, I'm just saying that it's almost irrelevant to the core issue. If you guys are having all of these issues and the community is upset and there really isn't anything you can do about it, maybe the EP/SP/GP structure itself isn't working.
No matter how valid your side of it is, no matter how you justify the strategy, people are confused and frustrated in the end. Something is wrong here, and I still believe that it's due to a lack of straightforward communication. We've spent two years waiting desperately for toddlers (for example) and we've gotten no word on it. You have to understand how difficult that is on our end and how shady it makes EA seem. We don't know anything and we don't know WHY we don't know anything, so we are left to over-analyze and assume the worst. Even if there are valid reasons for keeping us in the dark, the consequence of that is negative: we grow resentful and disheartened.
I hope you know what I'm trying to say and it's not coming off as rude. I'm super tired right now so it's hard to write clearly, but I just want to note that the reason I'm sitting here as a twenty-two year old writing this stuff is because I care deeply about The Sims franchise.
I'm not saying I have a solution, I'm just saying that I hope you realize (as I have recently realized) that the issue isn't one-sided. It's not EA's fault, and it's not our fault. EA isn't being lazy, and fans aren't being ungrateful. The strategy, as a whole, is simply ineffective.
Thank you for engaging with us and reading our comments and taking them seriously.
No I don't think it s a failure. I like getting the teasers now.
I hope the team and EA in general understand that EPs are what keeps a Sims game alive and the buyers willing to put up with the prices for little additions. I know they are more costly in production than SPs and GPS and therefore it might seem more attractive for EA to produce a lot of little content and direct less people to work on EPs like in the past.. but they really need to start thinking more sustainable in regard to how you keep your fans engaged and therefore happy to open their wallet for an AAA title like Sims 4.
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I like the teaser trailers in video form. I didn't like the gif teaser. I wouldn't mind a slide show teaser if it is for a small pack like a SP. I really can't judge too harshly on the teasers since I was one of the Simmers that suggested it, so it will be like I fail at even suggesting it if it fails which I'm hoping it doesn't.
@SimGuruDrake Aww, that was part of the fun was figuring out the patterns. Like mentioning how many game play objects were in SP to SimGuruGraham. If I didn't he wouldn't have broken the pattern with Backyard Stuff. I do think packs are setting a predictable pattern personally, but probably just my mathematical mind working. I'm a bit confused by it though, didn't Gurus state they like speculation, so is there anything wrong with speculating over pack patterns?
I am confused about this part, "Our feed would be filled with people only asking when we would be providing more information about the EP we teased even more so than they do now--completely ignoring the hard work of the other teams whose content just released. That is a disservice to the people who are also working hard on their teams to create content for the community to enjoy just to pacify those who don't want to wait to learn about things when they are ready." Isn't that already happening? I mean there isn't anywhere online I have found that hasn't avoided asking about features that don't exist. Kind of weird thinking pack teams are competitive with each other. I always thought they worked as a team and it didn't matter if Simmers preferred certain themes or packs over others. I don't know I guess that logic works with the buy now strategy with short term satisfaction that microtransaction markets present. I guess I think that way when purchasing products. I've never been a rash spender in all my years of Simming. Honestly only time I've played a pack the same month it was released was the pack you kindly gifted to me. Other than that, I tend to wait for sales before deciding to purchase. Sorry, I don't mean to question you on this, I'm just a bit confused so need some clarification. I still have huge respect for you. I just wish that long-term satisfaction was met with packs I guess. It feels like Simmers are easily bored after a week or so with SPs, after a little over a month with GPs, and about three months after an EP just from my observation on forums. I don't know what it is other than the Sims 4 generally needing that depth with dark and group styles. So far packs have been generally sugar coated happiness with no consequences and focused more towards young adults. It is a pattern set by the Sims 4 so far and I don't know what it is going to take to break the shallowness the Sims 4 has set. It is almost like this iteration is mimicking a sitcom show rather than being a life simulator. So I don't know how you are going to convey that to the team, but I hope it makes sense and yes you'll probably have to sugar coat my observation of where the Sims 4 is heading since I tend to be honest to a fault. It's really hard because it feels like how the community feels and how the Gurus feels towards the Sims 4 can be on two complete playing fields. I think some Simmer said, what is projected on the development side might not convey well on the player side. So there may be some cool features being developed that may not be received as well while playing. I'm probably over complicating trying to understand the whole Sims 4 experience from so many different Simmers that play so many different ways. I just know that some are happy, some have mixed feelings, and some have been utterly disappointed with the Sims 4 so far. I just don't know how Maxis is going to break that pattern, but surprise me if you can.
I've been playing The Sims since 2001 - 2002 and, honestly, I never felt so angry with the franchise (Even with The Sims 3 I were happier, and that game were full of issues) I feel you want to attract a new type of players, which I think is great, but at the same time you're completely ignoring the long-time franchise supporters. Those like me, who had played and bought every single Sims game.
I always thought why you made those decision, and I think it's because you guys don't have a clear path. You try to please everybody but, at the end, no one is totally pleased. If you really care about The Sims, ask your fanbase, ask them for ideas, for feedback on upcoming packs, create an UserVoice suggestions page... I don't care about teasers, they only show that you want to impose your vision to the players, and not everybody want your vision.
Almost two years after the launch, and the game is still empty for some people. And I was a Sims 4 supporter, but I'm tired of this.
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I too an anxious for more news and releases, and while I think a lot of us here (the whole community, not specifically this thread) appreciate how hard the sims team works, I do think there are some of us, who for whatever reason, simply don't.
I think some of us don't give Drake and the other Gurus the credit they deserve.
Your discourse is epic, could not have said it better!!!
Great comment!
In a way when i read this i read out that you are REALY angry at us or at the omnes that dont get it! I personly wasnt confused by the last teaser( it didnt teas EP 3 so we wont get EP 3 till Fall or Winter) I understand why the Gurus aculy area afraid to talk to us! Most of us are just mean evil lil plumbs since TS2 days
well i could see the pic teaser version happening with simple stuff! Stuff like Restaurants, Kids or Seasons could be Videoteaser form becaus tehr a bit more complex
Not angry at anyone
In that same vein of thought - the meal and main course is "THE Sims". You know the little pixel people these series is ALL ABOUT. The Sims - the mom, the dad, the whole family from infant to grandparents. I don't care which number of the series one picks - the one and most obvious thing that is usually a given in a game called THE SIMS is the Sims - first and foremost. Without the little pixel people you do not even have a game is my point. And for the last 11 plus years of the game the Sims has included all main point life stages of these little characters - so when a life stage and the play surrounding that life stage is missing suddenly from this new rendition of this series - it makes everything about the game seem incomplete.
Unfortunately when many of us have tried to explain this, we get misconstrued as to actually wanting the complete game with all it's bells and whistles - when that is not at all what we have been asking for. Many of us were just first and foremost expecting to have all our little people in the game when the game came out with the basic equipment and play in place with these little people. We never expected the base game to come with everything - even though I am sure some people might have liked to see more in a base game - many of us vets of the game knew that is not the way the Sims games worked and expected the normal eps, sps, and what ever else the studio had in mind - but many of us were more than just a little shocked when for no good reason we can see after 11 years of having all these life stages to get one (the toddler) totally eliminated and another (the teen) made to look just like YA's and adults - never mind act nearly the same. But at least the teen stage was still in the game which seemed to somewhat satisfy some of the Simmers - but to eliminate what some of us consider a major part of our game play was to me anyway rather unthinkable seeing I find I cannot at all even try to enjoy this game with them missing. It is like having a favorite meal and them eliminating that particular part of the main course. You just feel unsatisfied and never happy with the meal no matter how wonderful everything else is.
Really how would anyone enjoy saying going to a pizza or taco restaurant and getting served everything but the pizza or taco you came there for to start with - never mind also getting no upfront declaration, or even any explanation. You simply leave still feeling empty and unhappy.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
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In REALITY, I simply exist.....