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the worst thing about City Living - it will sell like hot cakes

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  • AlorxicoAlorxico Posts: 360 Member
    mirta000 wrote: »
    I can't help but feel underwhelmed by the expansion. I don't like how festivals are pretty much 99% main game stuff, how apartments are not buildable at all and you can't place them outside the new city and how this is now the 3rd EP to do mostly with adult living and having a good time. Yet if you go to youtube, people are so overjoyed, if you go to reddit, people can't wait and I can't help but feel disappointed.

    I'm not blaming anyone for liking the game, however if EA can downsize everything, slow the development down and sell it like hot cakes, what will the next iteration be? Why spend time improving future products, if you can limit them down and still sell them?


    Now, before I go much further, let me say this. Sims 4 is not a bad game. It's not great, but it's not bad and I do have fun with it. However, it was not the Sims game I wanted nor do I feel the game is going in the right direction.

    Personally, I get the feeling EA is testing the waters; Trying to see with how much they can get away before the fandom calls "bull****" and starts burning things. I'm not thrilled with City Life, either. It looks and feels like a mini-game you can play when you get bored of the main game. It feels ... out of place. I don't plan on buying it right away and I may not even buy it when it goes on sale for the first time, because City Life was not the EP I wanted and I don't think it is the EP Sims 4 needs right now.

    Sims 4 needs something to tighten up the game play, something that gives players better control over the lives of the Sims and that feature NEEDS to be optional. I hate being pinned to one family on one lot. It limits how I play the game. I like having a starter Sim, following him through the creation of his family and then following each child as they strike out on their own. In the Sims 4, as in Sims 3, if I leave the main family to follow one of the kids, I lose control of them and they end up making decisions that ruin the story I am trying to tell. And, yes, I understand that such things can add to the storytelling experience, but when I come back to find a Faithful Sim at the top of his career path is now unemployed and in bed with a new secret lover much younger than him, I get annoyed.

    Someone earlier mentioned that the EP better sell like hotcakes or the franchise will die, to which I say "let it." I don't want it to die, I LOVE the Sims, but this ... this isn't the Sims. The Sims used to be about telling stories, creating fun families with whome you could to explore the in game world and, essentially, playing God. YOU controlled them, YOU determined what they did and where they went, YOU created the game and the challenges using the tools provided and I had fun with that.

    In Sims 3, they took some of that control away with Story Progression and an AI that randomly determined when characters moved away or got married or had kids. Sims 4 feels like another step in that direction. We are no longer creating the stories, we are playing someone else's. If I want to play someone else's story, I'll play Skyrim.
  • stilljustme2stilljustme2 Posts: 25,082 Member
    Neia wrote: »
    Toddlers and gender patch, that got me thinking we'll have so many choices for hair and clothes when they'll come :love: It's going to be so cute !

    I've seen toddlers where it's hard to tell whether they're boys or girls at first glance because of the way they're dressed or their hairstyle. B)
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  • MissCherieMissCherie Posts: 408 Member
    What I find sad is that people don't learn and they are so desperate for more content that they don't have any standards anymore, people will accept anything as long as they get more content even if it's nothing ''new''.

    When they announced the Backyard stuff pack (before getting any info about it), people (rightly) complained that we already had stuff like that, that we already got Perfect Patio stuff pack and Romantic Garden stuff pack which are both pretty much outside/backyard stuff and then Backyard would be the ''third'' one and when I saw people complaining I though ''finally people are learning that we are allowed to expect more, we are allowed to want new and original stuff'', but what did happen? As soon as people saw the water slide everyone lost their brain and got crazy asking EA to take their money cause ''OMG A WATER SLIDE!!!!1''... Really? Why people go crazy on ONE item that isn't even new to the game series?

    So if people act like that for a stuff pack then with City Living it will be even worse. People act like it was new and super original while almost everything in that pack is déjà vu, apartments are nothing new, yes it can seems cool to be able to interact with the neighbors, but with the current culling issue good luck enjoying the features that include having relations with your neighbors. The culling issue is already frustrating as it is, it will just become even more of an issue in City Living with the neighbors interactions.

    The festivals? We had those in the Sims 3 and from what's have seen today in the stream there's nothing to be excited or impressed about, all they did at the Geek con festival was play games and go to space in a rocket ship, things we can already do, oh and buy stuff from a npc, how original. The Spice festival is pretty much just buying and eating food and I bet the romance festival will just be about flirting, I'm pretty sure the romance guru will have no impact in the game, even if he says you won't find love anytime soon how much you bet you can get a date right away and get marry the same night? So what will the guru really do? Affect your mood by giving ''fake'' good or bad news?

    The lot traits are maybe a new system, true, but honestly we already have 500 ways to change our sims' moods, did we really need an other way to do it? And the lot traits that look interesting sounds like they won't do much, like the earthquake one, will it break stuff in your apart or maybe even hurt/kill sims or again it will just give a bad mood to your sims if they experience it? (pretty sure it's just about the mood once again and that it won't affect the game other than that)

    We get one skill which is singing (basketball is tied to the fitness skill), I'm not saying it shouldn't be in the game, but honestly it's not the most useful skill, you can't even use it in a career (I doubt you need it to be a politician, critic or social media), but it can be used to affect other sims mood (yup AGAIN, not like we had already 500 ways to do it), one new aspiration that looks like a mix of the social aspirations we already have and two traits that honestly doesn't fit City Living and should be added in the base game in a patch. There so many other traits that would have fit way better, like Diva, it would have fit the City Ling theme way much more than vegetarian (not saying vegetarian is a bad trait, but honestly adding it in the base game would have been fine).

    So what's really new and original in that expansion pack? What's something we can say we never saw and will add real gameplay? Nothing, but the OP is right, people will buy it no matter what. People won't buy it cause it's an amazing pack, people will buy it cause they are desperate for more content and it's the third expansion pack in two years, the pack could have been anything else and people would have bought it just to get more content, without realizing that's it's empty content and worse than that people started to pre-order it without even knowing what was in the pack exactly.

    It's just sad, cause I'm sure a lot people will buy it just cause it's a ''new'' expansion pack, while it's not even anything they really wanted for the game.
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  • GamerB1GamerB1 Posts: 13 New Member
    I already pre ordered.
  • Zeldaboy180Zeldaboy180 Posts: 5,997 Member
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Yes, the GP does not have All The Things that everyone wants in it. There is no such thing as a game or add-on that does. That's only possible if you like watching the companies that make your toys go out of business.

    you're making a game pack that is focused on nothing but restaurants and you can't put waiting and cooking for it in when an expansion 10 years ago implemented this as a side feature? Really? They can no longer do what they did a decade ago when they get to focus on JUST that?
    The gender patch was widely discussed on the forums.

    the gender patch discussions were widely shut down on the forums, I still have some videos with all of the comments photographed, including quite a few that closed threads, saying that it's an inappropriate topic to discuss in a teen rated forum. If you had anything bad to say about it, you were pretty much banned off here.
    Your fact is wrong there. And the idea that they provided the ability for people who could never make or play as themselves in a game to do so for the first time ever... for publicity?

    if you compare how much asked for gender patch and how much asked for toddlers, then yes. They prioritized what makes good press instead of what would have satisfied a very vocal majority.

    No, no threads got shut down by people saying they didn't want the update. People got in trouble when they started saying bigoted things toward transgenders.
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  • Zeldaboy180Zeldaboy180 Posts: 5,997 Member
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Neia wrote: »
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Neia wrote: »
    Toddlers and gender patch, that got me thinking we'll have so many choices for hair and clothes when they'll come :love: It's going to be so cute !

    we're 2 years in with people begging for them and the only responses so far where "we're going to talk about it" and "complaints have an expiry date" and you still hope for them to come?

    Though talking about weird prioritization, why they prioritized the tragic clown over let's say a firefighter I really don't get O_o

    Yes, I think they'll come. And I think they are going to be awesome !

    well we'll see at the end of this game's lifespan, but after developers getting angry with people asking for them repeatedly and saying "complaints have an expiration date" I would really stop hoping.

    Source quote please?
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  • NeiaNeia Posts: 4,190 Member
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    I was just thinking that too, culling is something that I can agree on with many people of not liking. I guess in the Sims community it is possible to find common ground with other Simmers and not liking culling and relationship culling is one of those areas.

    culling is not a feature though, it's just something that happens under the hood that developers use to make the game run better.

    I think it's a feature, combined with the way NPCs and townies are generated, it's keeping the town lively while still allowing to see mostly my own Sims (I play rotational with a lot of Sims) when I'm travelling. In TS2, I had a lot of townies/NPCs. In TS4, there's as just many NPCs as I truly need. When I go to the restaurant, all the customers are my own Sims, the game only generates the staff. When I go to the library next, it's still my own Sims I see, and the game generates the librarian. I see my own Sims everywhere and I love it ! It really gives me more control on my population. It's the game going "just fill your town with all the Sims you want, I'll handle any oversight and complete it for you."
  • EvalenEvalen Posts: 10,223 Member
    edited October 2016
    City Living, besides festival, can you go to restaurants, in the city, or Parks, bars, nightclubs and are there entertainment in clubs, is there any night life and other places that are new or just the festival. If there is culture can you go to say a Italian restaurant, or other culture restaurant, can you build in City Living, like are there any empty lots to build, can you build a house in the city.
    Don't get me wrong, I think that the festival is a nice touch, but what else is there. After all if my sim lives in the city, he will not just want to go to festivals.
    Post edited by Evalen on
  • SimfamousSimfamous Posts: 59 Member
    me reading through this thread

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  • Renamed2002180839Renamed2002180839 Posts: 3,444 Member
    edited October 2016
    MissCherie wrote: »

    The lot traits are maybe a new system, true, but honestly we already have 500 ways to change our sims' moods, did we really need an other way to do it? And the lot traits that look interesting sounds like they won't do much, like the earthquake one, will it break stuff in your apart or maybe even hurt/kill sims or again it will just give a bad mood to your sims if they experience it? (pretty sure it's just about the mood once again and that it won't affect the game other than that)

    They confirmed that the earthquakes don't break anything in the latest stream. The screen shakes and the sims get "upset"- yeah another way to change their moods, which more and more is all this game does seem to offer which speaks to it's expiration day. Another example is the "Romance Festival". It uses a slightly redesigned fountain from the Luxury Party pack to dispense tea that makes you flirty- yeah- we already have tea that makes you flirty. As well, the new bubble blower looks to be the same as say the tea pot or maybe more closely the ice cream maker- since sims change color to some extent when using it but it just seems to once again change moods. They wanted to focus on the sims but after a while changing the exact same moods in just slightly different way and interacting with the limited three trait system gets dull for a lot of people.
    Evalen wrote: »
    City Living, besides festival, can you go to restaurants, in the city, or Parks, bars, nightclubs and are there entertainment in clubs, is there any night life and other places that are new or just the festival. If there is culture can you go to say a Italian restaurant, or other culture restaurant, can you build in City Living, like are there any empty lots to build, can you build a house in the city.

    @Evalen There's also a Karaoke Bar. There's a somewhat new art museum execution- maybe a bit like an "art center" but I'd already made something like that with existing items in my game so, not really new on that. There are- I think- six user buildable lots on the ground and three "penthouse" lots a top skyscraper shells for a total of 9 user buildable lots and yes that's not much. As well, I'm not entirely sure of the six ground level lots- it may be four. It's hard to tell/count and someone else may know for sure but I know at one point I thought there were only seven and I still kinda think that.
    Neia wrote: »
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    I was just thinking that too, culling is something that I can agree on with many people of not liking. I guess in the Sims community it is possible to find common ground with other Simmers and not liking culling and relationship culling is one of those areas.

    culling is not a feature though, it's just something that happens under the hood that developers use to make the game run better.

    I think it's a feature, combined with the way NPCs and townies are generated, it's keeping the town lively while still allowing to see mostly my own Sims (I play rotational with a lot of Sims) when I'm travelling. In TS2, I had a lot of townies/NPCs. In TS4, there's as just many NPCs as I truly need. When I go to the restaurant, all the customers are my own Sims, the game only generates the staff. When I go to the library next, it's still my own Sims I see, and the game generates the librarian. I see my own Sims everywhere and I love it ! It really gives me more control on my population. It's the game going "just fill your town with all the Sims you want, I'll handle any oversight and complete it for you."

    No offense Neia- but culling plums. Like really, Really, REALLY plums! Really... no really, as in really- really.
    Post edited by Renamed2002180839 on
  • GoldmoldarGoldmoldar Posts: 11,966 Member
    edited October 2016
    I do like the concept of CL but the throwback is the limitation it imposes on the rest of the game locking out the rest of the neighborhoods from having apts and for me the fun is limited by doing that. I can't explore new ideas in a different neighborhood, Sims 4 is too low tech for me being I can't literally go outside the box. CL looks nice but I can see the cracks.
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  • NeiaNeia Posts: 4,190 Member
    Neia wrote: »
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    I was just thinking that too, culling is something that I can agree on with many people of not liking. I guess in the Sims community it is possible to find common ground with other Simmers and not liking culling and relationship culling is one of those areas.

    culling is not a feature though, it's just something that happens under the hood that developers use to make the game run better.

    I think it's a feature, combined with the way NPCs and townies are generated, it's keeping the town lively while still allowing to see mostly my own Sims (I play rotational with a lot of Sims) when I'm travelling. In TS2, I had a lot of townies/NPCs. In TS4, there's as just many NPCs as I truly need. When I go to the restaurant, all the customers are my own Sims, the game only generates the staff. When I go to the library next, it's still my own Sims I see, and the game generates the librarian. I see my own Sims everywhere and I love it ! It really gives me more control on my population. It's the game going "just fill your town with all the Sims you want, I'll handle any oversight and complete it for you."

    No offense Neia- but culling plums. Like really, Really, REALLY plums! Really... no really, as in really- really.

    It's fine, I'm sure there are other features you like that I personally find awful :)
  • CrackFoxCrackFox Posts: 1,507 Member
    edited October 2016
    This expansion is 80% set dressing. Every corner has been cut. From teleporting in and out of lifts, making them basically props to being unable to actually build apartments and use them in other worlds. It's a good idea for a pack that's been horribly executed.

    People are entitled to like what they like but I agree with the OP. I feel like people are way too accepting of this half baked content. This game and the way it is being produced shouldn't having a price tag that high. Even half the price would be pushing it in terms of value for money.

  • Renamed2002180839Renamed2002180839 Posts: 3,444 Member
    Neia wrote: »
    Neia wrote: »
    mirta000 wrote: »
    Scobre wrote: »
    I was just thinking that too, culling is something that I can agree on with many people of not liking. I guess in the Sims community it is possible to find common ground with other Simmers and not liking culling and relationship culling is one of those areas.

    culling is not a feature though, it's just something that happens under the hood that developers use to make the game run better.

    I think it's a feature, combined with the way NPCs and townies are generated, it's keeping the town lively while still allowing to see mostly my own Sims (I play rotational with a lot of Sims) when I'm travelling. In TS2, I had a lot of townies/NPCs. In TS4, there's as just many NPCs as I truly need. When I go to the restaurant, all the customers are my own Sims, the game only generates the staff. When I go to the library next, it's still my own Sims I see, and the game generates the librarian. I see my own Sims everywhere and I love it ! It really gives me more control on my population. It's the game going "just fill your town with all the Sims you want, I'll handle any oversight and complete it for you."

    No offense Neia- but culling plums. Like really, Really, REALLY plums! Really... no really, as in really- really.

    It's fine, I'm sure there are other features you like that I personally find awful :)

    No doubt there- lol! No doubt there! :p
  • mirta000mirta000 Posts: 2,974 Member
    No, no threads got shut down by people saying they didn't want the update. People got in trouble when they started saying bigoted things toward transgenders.

    bigoted things like "I don't think that same genders should be able to make babies the regular way?". Yes, very bigoted indeed.

    Source quote please?

    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/897072/questions-for-gamescom-q-a-panel/p10

  • aaronjc123aaronjc123 Posts: 1,117 Member
    edited October 2016
    mirta000 wrote: »
    No, no threads got shut down by people saying they didn't want the update. People got in trouble when they started saying bigoted things toward transgenders.

    bigoted things like "I don't think that same genders should be able to make babies the regular way?". Yes, very bigoted indeed.

    Source quote please?

    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/897072/questions-for-gamescom-q-a-panel/p10

    But those things are optional, meaning you don't have to use them if you don't want to. Sims of the opposite sex can only have children in my game, unless they adopt.

    This topic was beaten to death months ago and it didn't end well. No idea why people are insistent on bring it up again. Certain individuals have already admitted that their opposition to the update was borne out of religious beliefs and tradition, and not much else.
  • Horrorgirl6Horrorgirl6 Posts: 3,170 Member
    Why I don't agree wtih patch . I would be lieing to say I didn't feel like the patch was for publicity . I mean if they really wanted to add it ? Why didn't they have it at the beginning ? You would had less people upset . And to my knowledge the faeture would probably be better. But they didn't , and s result soe of it is half bake
  • mirta000mirta000 Posts: 2,974 Member
    aaronjc123 wrote: »
    But those things are optional, meaning you don't have to use them if you don't want to. Sims of the opposite sex can only have children in my game, unless they adopt.

    This topic was beaten to death months ago and it didn't end well. No idea why people are insistent on bring it up again. Certain individuals have already admitted that their opposition to the update was borne out of religious beliefs and tradition, and not much else.

    because you censor voices and think that it's alright? Even better, everyone who is not in your camp is now bigoted. Everyone has the right to express their option and I'm really tired of people silencing others with insults as if nobody has the right to critique simply because it touched a holy topic...
  • aaronjc123aaronjc123 Posts: 1,117 Member
    edited October 2016
    mirta000 wrote: »
    aaronjc123 wrote: »
    But those things are optional, meaning you don't have to use them if you don't want to. Sims of the opposite sex can only have children in my game, unless they adopt.

    This topic was beaten to death months ago and it didn't end well. No idea why people are insistent on bring it up again. Certain individuals have already admitted that their opposition to the update was borne out of religious beliefs and tradition, and not much else.

    because you censor voices and think that it's alright? Even better, everyone who is not in your camp is now bigoted. Everyone has the right to express their option and I'm really tired of people silencing others with insults as if nobody has the right to critique simply because it touched a holy topic...

    Yeah, except this is an internet forum - the rules of free speech don't apply here. The people who run this site can remove what they want without any explanation. You might find that upsetting, but what do you intend on doing about it?

    In any case, yes I think you're bigoted - I'm pretty sure I mentioned that before on the thread that got deleted and I'm mentioning it again. Transgender people exist, and their right to exist is more important than your right to be offended by their existence.. sorry. If Maxis pandered to the whims of every group of people that found something or someone offensive/wrong then all Sims wouldn't be bisexual by default, same-sex marriage wouldn't exist and aliens would be patched out because I have no doubt highly religious people find it blasphemous or something equally silly.
  • DegrassiGenDegrassiGen Posts: 2,168 Member
    This pack is feeling so empty I fear that when The Sims 4: Stop Peeing On The Fire Hydrant (Pets Expansion) is released that pets will be made without fur cause due to time constraints certain game play elements couldn't be produced so we are getting hairless dogs. cats, and R&B music will be ringing out of cats mouths rather then the popular sound "MEOW" due to budget cuts!
  • mirta000mirta000 Posts: 2,974 Member
    edited October 2016
    aaronjc123 wrote: »

    Yeah, except this is an internet forum - the rules of free speech don't apply here. The people who run this site can remove what they want without any explanation. You might find that upsetting, but what do you intend on doing about it?

    In any case, yes I think you're bigoted - I'm pretty sure I mentioned that before on the thread that got deleted and I'm mentioning it again. Transgender people exist, and their right to exist is more important than your right to be offended by their existence.. sorry.

    and who is offended by their existence? You're calling me bigoted because I didn't want same gender sims to have babies in my own game, nor was happy how "gender neutral" clothing looked on the opposite sex.

    And this was my biggest problem with the patch. Opposition was outright abused, but all that happened was the threads got deleted and we were told that we can't have the conversation about the patch on a teen forum...
  • Horrorgirl6Horrorgirl6 Posts: 3,170 Member
    Can we end this , will all have different oppinions , and views
  • aaronjc123aaronjc123 Posts: 1,117 Member
    edited October 2016
    mirta000 wrote: »
    aaronjc123 wrote: »

    Yeah, except this is an internet forum - the rules of free speech don't apply here. The people who run this site can remove what they want without any explanation. You might find that upsetting, but what do you intend on doing about it?

    In any case, yes I think you're bigoted - I'm pretty sure I mentioned that before on the thread that got deleted and I'm mentioning it again. Transgender people exist, and their right to exist is more important than your right to be offended by their existence.. sorry.

    and who is offended by their existence? You're calling me bigoted because I didn't want same gender sims to have babies in my own game, nor was happy how "gender neutral" clothing looked on the opposite sex.

    But they don't have to - by default only Sims of the opposite sex can have children. You have to go out of your way to change that - therefore I find this complaint unusual and I suspect you have an ulterior motive.

    The clothing looks odd on the opposite sex, I agree with that.
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