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What's sad about these packs is what we DON'T get

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ravynwolvfravynwolvf Posts: 1,073 Member
So we're getting knitting. Just like we got laundry before. I don't have a problem with having either in my game; the more things to do, the better. But why do we have to vote past the "Art and Crafts" stage? Art & Crafts is a pack, or should be; not "Let's Knit". I know these are supposed to be quick little add-ons, but really, $10 for one interaction my sims will fiddle with for a while, and a smattering of new furniture that will just blend into the catalog with the rest? I don't need another end table; I need more and more things for my sim to do, because the game STILL feels empty of activities. And being told that while we COULD put knitting, sculpting, pottery, glass fabricating, etc, in the game, you're going to have to pick just one, instead, is just sad. In other words, the disappointing thing about these community choice packs isn't the one thing we get, but the three things we don't.

Edited to this because, it wasn't quite really what I meant to say. :*
Post edited by ravynwolvf on

Comments

  • NetzspannungNetzspannung Posts: 2,456 Member
    I am not entirely sure what point you are trying to make, how have our "expectations fallen"? Stuff Packs have always been about adding stuff, even in previous iterations (e.g. TS3: Diesel Stuff Pack, Movie Stuff Pack). And Stuff Packs have always been 10 bucks and have never added meaningful gameplay. I don't know why we should expect more from this Stuff Pack? If the point is whether the Arts & Crafts theme should have been covered with a Stuff Pack in the first place, that is a good question. If you are arguing that the whole concept of Stuff Packs is bogus, then that's a valid opinion of course. I generally like to have more stuff in my game but of course I value the expanding nature of Expansions and the deeper gameplay of Game Packs more, which is why I am willing to pay more for those type of packs. But this was always going to be just another Community Stuff Pack.
    If I just posted an outfit you like, I have good news - there is more where that came from!
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  • DuendeDuende Posts: 175 Member
    They made a Strangerville aimed at solving a one time mystery. I'm waiting for a pack to solve the never ending mystery behind all these half-baked packs.
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  • ListentoToppDoggListentoToppDogg Posts: 2,103 Member
    I mean, they said from the start that only one of the gameplay additions would be the focus. It's a stuff pack, not a GP or EP. If it was one of those, then yeah, of course everything should have been included, but it was known since the beginning that for a stuff pack, they would only focus on one.

    Personally, I would have loved a full arts and crafts GP or EP with everything included, but that's not what was offered, so we just have to take what we can get. Maybe in the future they'll add the rest in a bigger pack. At the very least, with only one major focus, knitting should be able to get the depth it truly needs, expanded to all age groups and not just being only for YAs.
  • PlayerSinger2010PlayerSinger2010 Posts: 3,267 Member
    I mean, the community voted for this one, so it's not all on EA... we could have had a huge stuff pack with Happy Haunts but nope! The community wanted to make this one a Granny pack.
  • ravynwolvfravynwolvf Posts: 1,073 Member
    I am not entirely sure what point you are trying to make, how have our "expectations fallen"? Stuff Packs have always been about adding stuff, even in previous iterations (e.g. TS3: Diesel Stuff Pack, Movie Stuff Pack). And Stuff Packs have always been 10 bucks and have never added meaningful gameplay. I don't know why we should expect more from this Stuff Pack? If the point is whether the Arts & Crafts theme should have been covered with a Stuff Pack in the first place, that is a good question. If you are arguing that the whole concept of Stuff Packs is bogus, then that's a valid opinion of course. I generally like to have more stuff in my game but of course I value the expanding nature of Expansions and the deeper gameplay of Game Packs more, which is why I am willing to pay more for those type of packs. But this was always going to be just another Community Stuff Pack.

    The point I am trying to make is that the game is still light on things to do. I hate the fact that we have to choose which one thing out of five will be added, and we don't and probably will never get the other four. And yeah, for that reason, I do think these packs are bogus. They offer very little in new game play for the price. And honestly, while it's great to try and get the fan base involved by letting them vote, you're just going to end up with a lot of people disappointed by the way it turned out. I myself accept the fact that knitting is gonna be the new thing, but I don't really see how much it will add, other than the ability to make cosmetic changes to clothing and perhaps bed covers (the latter would be a small plus at least). Maybe it will give us new stuff to wash.
  • SimmingalSimmingal Posts: 8,885 Member
    edited January 2020
    well stuff packs never had that much gameplay anyway and we knew from start it is a stuff pack not gp or ep
    so I think smaller theme is good so at least we are not half baking anything that needs big theme like HH does
    (for the gameplay choices mostly sound perfect together and lacking separated)

    and also I feel that smaller things often get half baked or forgotten in big themes
    because let's imagine we have hobby gp/ep they'd still make choice between similar hobbies
    like hmm skiing vs snowboarding? shooting range or archery range? you know

    by excluding knitting into its own pack now,
    if they later do hobby pack we could have some other hobby
    instead of using budget of that pack to knitting since it is already done
    and also we will most likely do much more with knitting
    than we would if it was just last minute side addition

    what I would like choice on though is actual types of side furniture we want
    like now it's just like here is these objects in different style what style should we do
    but it would be nice to have choice over furnitures even if they are not gameplay objects

    like as builder one truly knows if they want new couch or new side table or whatever the most
    Post edited by Simmingal on
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  • DeKayDeKay Posts: 81,472 Member
    I mean, on one hand, it does seem rather plain to have knitting as the main theme of a stuff pack. But if you look at other SPs, like the fitness one (where the only new gameplay you had was the rock climbing one) and maybe the kids pack (where you play with the void critters thing), a knitting SP is pretty much on the same level as those. 🤷‍♀️

    If they wanted to make this have a variety of arts and crafts stuff, it most definitely won't be a Stuff Pack but a Game pack.
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  • MissyHissyMissyHissy Posts: 2,022 Member
    ravynwolvf wrote: »
    So we're getting knitting. Just like we got laundry before. I don't have a problem with having either in my game; the more things to do, the better. But why do we have to vote past the "Art and Crafts" stage? Art & Crafts is a pack, or should be; not "Let's Knit". Sorry, but our expectations have fallen. I know these are supposed to be quick little add-ons, but really, $10 for one interaction my sims will fiddle with for a while, and a smattering of new furniture that will just blend into the catalog with the rest? I don't need another end table; I need more and more things for my sim to do, because the game STILL feels empty of activities. And being told that while we COULD put knitting, sculpting, pottery, glass fabricating, etc, in the game, you're going to have to pick just one, instead, is just plain cheesy.

    At least Sims 4 stuff packs include things with interactions. We used to pay £15 for a Sims 3 stuff pack with no new gameplay at all. More than that for Store Sets with one new gameplay item (two if we were really lucky). So this actually works out far better (cheaper, too) in the long run.
    I assume your statement of 'our expectations have fallen' would be because this wasn't the theme you voted for? EA asked for the community to vote so the community voted. Personally, I voted for the Arts and Crafts theme but I would have found enjoyment in any of the themes posted up, to be truthful. I don't feel like expectations have fallen at all. People simply voted for the theme and narrowed that down to the feature they liked best <3
    I mean, the community voted for this one, so it's not all on EA... we could have had a huge stuff pack with Happy Haunts but nope! The community wanted to make this one a Granny pack.

    If the Happy Haunts had won, you still would only have had one of the features from it's list, not all. So it wouldn't be the huge pack after all - just the same as this one, in fact.
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  • ravynwolvfravynwolvf Posts: 1,073 Member
    edited January 2020
    I think my overall problem with the game and these little stuff pack add-ons now is, unless you play multiple houses (which I don't), I don't really get much use out of what comes in them. The new interaction is nice, but there's plenty of couches, beds, tables, etc already in the game. Maybe I'll find one or two pieces of furniture I'll use, but because there are now plenty of others to choose from, that would be about it. What the game is still lacking imo IS the new interactions; things your sims can actually do. And that's what I'm starving for; I'm getting more and more bored trying to find something interesting for my sim to do when he gets out of bed. So when they say we're getting knitting (or if any other of the choices would have won) and the rest just never happen, it makes me sad, because the game could really use all of them, or similar activities.

    So personally I'd happily pay $10 and get two new things to do and nothing else, even, then a bunch of stuff I won't really use. And Tiny Living, as much as I sometimes play that theme, really doesn't interest me at all. My new HERO interaction would be the Murphy Bed. Yeah, I know it takes new animations, but it ain't exactly gonna add a lot to gameplay.
  • ravynwolvfravynwolvf Posts: 1,073 Member
    edited January 2020
    MissyHissy wrote: »
    ravynwolvf wrote: »
    So we're getting knitting. Just like we got laundry before. I don't have a problem with having either in my game; the more things to do, the better. But why do we have to vote past the "Art and Crafts" stage? Art & Crafts is a pack, or should be; not "Let's Knit". Sorry, but our expectations have fallen. I know these are supposed to be quick little add-ons, but really, $10 for one interaction my sims will fiddle with for a while, and a smattering of new furniture that will just blend into the catalog with the rest? I don't need another end table; I need more and more things for my sim to do, because the game STILL feels empty of activities. And being told that while we COULD put knitting, sculpting, pottery, glass fabricating, etc, in the game, you're going to have to pick just one, instead, is just plain cheesy.

    At least Sims 4 stuff packs include things with interactions. We used to pay £15 for a Sims 3 stuff pack with no new gameplay at all. More than that for Store Sets with one new gameplay item (two if we were really lucky). So this actually works out far better (cheaper, too) in the long run.
    I assume your statement of 'our expectations have fallen' would be because this wasn't the theme you voted for? EA asked for the community to vote so the community voted. Personally, I voted for the Arts and Crafts theme but I would have found enjoyment in any of the themes posted up, to be truthful. I don't feel like expectations have fallen at all. People simply voted for the theme and narrowed that down to the feature they liked best <3
    I mean, the community voted for this one, so it's not all on EA... we could have had a huge stuff pack with Happy Haunts but nope! The community wanted to make this one a Granny pack.

    If the Happy Haunts had won, you still would only have had one of the features from it's list, not all. So it wouldn't be the huge pack after all - just the same as this one, in fact.

    And you assume wrong; it's not what theme won. I never said anything remotely like that. Although "our expectations have fallen" might have been a poor choice of words; maybe it should have been "The disappointing thing about these community choice packs isn't the one thing we get, but the three things we don't".
  • TamakiSakura84TamakiSakura84 Posts: 543 Member
    Maybe there should be a Community Game Pack project in the future? That would allow for the top 4-5 gameplay items to be included.
  • ScobreScobre Posts: 20,665 Member
    edited January 2020
    Yeah I hate with so many Sims packs, there is almost never anything for kids and toddlers. I was checking out packs and like the pack that pretty much brought things for younger toddler Simmers has only been Island Living since last year. Kids hardly get anything too.
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  • ChadSims2ChadSims2 Posts: 5,090 Member
    At this point the only disappointing thing about this pack is they still have not added a hobbies option to CAS so I wont be able to make a Sim who loves knitting and does it on their own.
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  • SarahSoda9SarahSoda9 Posts: 19 Member
    > @ravynwolvf said:
    > So we're getting knitting. Just like we got laundry before. I don't have a problem with having either in my game; the more things to do, the better. But why do we have to vote past the "Art and Crafts" stage? Art & Crafts is a pack, or should be; not "Let's Knit". I know these are supposed to be quick little add-ons, but really, $10 for one interaction my sims will fiddle with for a while, and a smattering of new furniture that will just blend into the catalog with the rest? I don't need another end table; I need more and more things for my sim to do, because the game STILL feels empty of activities. And being told that while we COULD put knitting, sculpting, pottery, glass fabricating, etc, in the game, you're going to have to pick just one, instead, is just sad. In other words, the disappointing thing about these community choice packs isn't the one thing we get, but the three things we don't.
    >
    > Edited to this because, it wasn't quite really what I meant to say. :*

    Couldnt agree more.. our sims need more to keep them busy. Instead of just a knitting pack maybe it should be a game pack of "indoor activities" or a 'hobby pack' that features a couple different hobby activities... less furniture and clothing more activities and gameplay interactions.
  • RMBLACKRMBLACK Posts: 14 New Member
    PLEASE ADD BACKYARD CHICKENS!! Would love to be able to raise chickens and harvest eggs!!
  • ScobreScobre Posts: 20,665 Member
    SarahSoda9 wrote: »
    > @ravynwolvf said:
    > So we're getting knitting. Just like we got laundry before. I don't have a problem with having either in my game; the more things to do, the better. But why do we have to vote past the "Art and Crafts" stage? Art & Crafts is a pack, or should be; not "Let's Knit". I know these are supposed to be quick little add-ons, but really, $10 for one interaction my sims will fiddle with for a while, and a smattering of new furniture that will just blend into the catalog with the rest? I don't need another end table; I need more and more things for my sim to do, because the game STILL feels empty of activities. And being told that while we COULD put knitting, sculpting, pottery, glass fabricating, etc, in the game, you're going to have to pick just one, instead, is just sad. In other words, the disappointing thing about these community choice packs isn't the one thing we get, but the three things we don't.
    >
    > Edited to this because, it wasn't quite really what I meant to say. :*

    Couldnt agree more.. our sims need more to keep them busy. Instead of just a knitting pack maybe it should be a game pack of "indoor activities" or a 'hobby pack' that features a couple different hobby activities... less furniture and clothing more activities and gameplay interactions.
    There are a lot of indoor activities for Sims to do already. If anything they need more outdoor activities to keep them active like sports and using transportation objects like skateboarding and snowboarding and surfing and skiing and water polo and water volleyball. I wouldn't mind some X-Games things for Sims to do too. I don't like Sims to just do the more lazy activities, but more active too.
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  • Pamtastic72Pamtastic72 Posts: 4,545 Member
    RMBLACK wrote: »
    PLEASE ADD BACKYARD CHICKENS!! Would love to be able to raise chickens and harvest eggs!!

    And sheep, we could harvest the wool for our knitting 🧶.
  • NylaliaNylalia Posts: 64 Member
    I hope that kids get the ability to knit, and that elders can mentor in knitting. I feel like this pack could extend generational interactions.

    Imagine a grandparent and grandchild settling in for a knitting session, with the elder carefully guiding the child through knit/purl techniques.

    This warms my heart.
  • vincentvega8899vincentvega8899 Posts: 103 Member
    I’m not mad at it at the pack and I’m thankful for more, but I know 100% I’ll download it, look at the stuff, place “stuff” in the house for the sim that I want to knit, interact with it and than.... that’s it. It’ll take less than an hour to be over it. I’m not sure what they could do differently to make it feel bigger. Plus it’s just silly how it’s started to feel more dead to me maybe it’s me. The sims themselves feel dead and the same. I can’t identify the differences between them. Their stories and who they are, don’t exist. “Get to know them” yeah I get to know if their single, employment, and traits and whatever else. Which I already know as the player because I created them. When I was playing with family A something should of happened to family B since I left. No nothing just maybe some aging. Every time I play I have to use more imagination than having the game give me the experience. Purposely making them do things I think they should be doing because of their traits, styles, etc. It’s like playing with dolls they make accessories but at the end of the day it’s still a doll inanimate object. Sorry I’m just going on a rant. This game is great. I know it’s ton of work, and their spirits get broken everyday. Keep your head up guys. Your doing great, but come on!
  • cheescaekscheescaeks Posts: 902 Member
    Maybe there should be a Community Game Pack project in the future? That would allow for the top 4-5 gameplay items to be included.

    doubt it. stuff packs generally have a month or so of development behind the scenes. doing a community stuff pack drags that month out to several months.

    a game pack takes around 6 months of development, that would be dragged out WAAAAAY to long for community driven votes and suggestions.

    i think the closet we'll get to that is a happy haunts game pack, a lot of people were very keen on that idea and even the sim gurus were as well, and they might take that idea and morph it into a game pack. but that's it, they'll probably won't have user input from that.

    which, i'm happy that happy haunts lost, i know people are mad about it and i really loved the idea of it but the thing is that i loved ALL the things about it. i didn't want just one gameplay aspect to win since i wanted all three of those careers and i wanted all of those objects. at least the arts and crafts one i could select just one winner and be happy with it. i know that puts happy haunts in a position to never go into development, but i'm hopeful that we'll see a gamepack with supernatural careers and objects. it's such a great idea, and a lot of people wanted it to win that it came in a very close tie, hopefully...i really hope we get a more fleshed out happy haunts
  • Lemon405Lemon405 Posts: 163 Member
    I agree with what OP is getting at. The disappointment doesn’t come from one option winning over the others, it comes from seeing all the fantastic options that don’t win and we know we’re probably never going to get now.

    It’s like watching all these fantastic additions, that would add so much, get permanently crossed off the list-forever. Never to be seen again. And then you’re left to try to find new things to hope for and pray they also don’t get permanently wiped off the list of options.
  • reanseihreanseih Posts: 265 Member
    edited February 2020
    I don’t mind Arts and Crafts... but I really hate that we picked knitting of all things. Sounded the most CAS heavy out of the options. I’m only ever in build mode. Happy Haunts was the only gameplay that may have tempted me to actually play the game, but I would’ve been totally happy if we could get stained glass. Alas, it’s knitting. Knitting. Not to mention the art style is hardly unique in any way.

    But I got the laundry I really wanted last time so.

    It’s just. When you know you COULDV’E gotten it but don’t. That hurts lol.
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  • CamkatCamkat Posts: 2,329 Member
    I’m not mad at it at the pack and I’m thankful for more, but I know 100% I’ll download it, look at the stuff, place “stuff” in the house for the sim that I want to knit, interact with it and than.... that’s it. It’ll take less than an hour to be over it. I’m not sure what they could do differently to make it feel bigger. Plus it’s just silly how it’s started to feel more dead to me maybe it’s me. The sims themselves feel dead and the same. I can’t identify the differences between them. Their stories and who they are, don’t exist. “Get to know them” yeah I get to know if their single, employment, and traits and whatever else. Which I already know as the player because I created them. When I was playing with family A something should of happened to family B since I left. No nothing just maybe some aging. Every time I play I have to use more imagination than having the game give me the experience. Purposely making them do things I think they should be doing because of their traits, styles, etc. It’s like playing with dolls they make accessories but at the end of the day it’s still a doll inanimate object. Sorry I’m just going on a rant. This game is great. I know it’s ton of work, and their spirits get broken everyday. Keep your head up guys. Your doing great, but come on!

    This is a core game problem though. No amount of stuff packs, game packs or expansions will fix this. Like you said, it works for an hour or so and then your done and it's over. Packs can't hide this for long and they certainly can't fix it.

    Hopefully they're interesting in fixing this though. The last community survey does lead me to believe there's hope yet! :)
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  • ltodorovltodorov Posts: 1 New Member
    I liked both the Happy Hunts and Arts and Crafts style from the beginning. Now that knitting is the primary focus, I have lost interest. It’s a lovely addition for the elderly, however, I would’ve liked if they incorporated a couple other craft skills along with it. I would have LOVED pottery or glass fabrication. Such a cool concept and fitting for more age groups. I will not be paying $10 for the elderly to be able to knit. As an artist in real life, we are LACKING in unique creative skills. So many creative talents out there these days that I would love to have in game.
  • DaWaterRatDaWaterRat Posts: 3,351 Member
    ltodorov wrote: »
    I liked both the Happy Hunts and Arts and Crafts style from the beginning. Now that knitting is the primary focus, I have lost interest. It’s a lovely addition for the elderly, however, I would’ve liked if they incorporated a couple other craft skills along with it. I would have LOVED pottery or glass fabrication. Such a cool concept and fitting for more age groups. I will not be paying $10 for the elderly to be able to knit. As an artist in real life, we are LACKING in unique creative skills. So many creative talents out there these days that I would love to have in game.

    Sigh... insert long tirade about how knitting is not just for the elderly, and there are a lot of cool modern and youthful (as in Teen-YA) patterns out there...

    I don't mind if you would have preferred Happy haunts or some other craft, but "knitting is for the elderly" is an ageist excuse.
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