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Knitting Gameplay Questions for the Community!
SimGuruConor
Posts: 16 SimGuru
Hello Sims forums! I’m a gameplay designer on SP17 and I have some insight and questions for the community!
Also if you haven't already, please take the object vote! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JZBMHNF
Q1: Crosspack! I’m planning on making Knitting compatible with things like Get to Work Retail Lots (including Mannequins!), Get Together’s Club Rules, and City LIving’s Yard Sale Table. What else would provide fun crosspack functionality? For example, should knitting provide Fame in some way?
Q2: If some “Crochet-Like” objects became craftable through Knitting, how would you personally feel? Happy? Enraged? Strong sense of ennui? We can’t guarantee unique animations for crocheting, but I’d like to still potentially provide them as a craftable object for players.
Q3: There’s a cool crafty desk floating around in concept art that you guys may have seen (49 - 52 in the object vote). What would knitting at one of these desks mean to you, if anything? Asking around the office, nobody knits at a desk, but I’m curious if anyone would find value if the new crafting desk tied in with knitting somehow.
Q4: I’d like Knitting to actually take some time to craft, something Sims can save for later and come back to. In your experience, how long have some of your knitting projects taken? I’ll try not to make it feel too grindy, but definitely longer than it takes to paint in our game.
Q5: If your Sim wanted to knit something, but they couldn't find a place to sit, would you be okay with them standing up and knitting? Asking for a friend...
Q6: Along with the Mentor interaction, I’d like to include a proper “Teach to Knit” interaction. I’d love to have that moment where the Knitting Master granny teaches their grandchild how to knit. For those of you who experienced similar things, what was that experience like for you? I’m curious what people think this should look like - both animation and story wise.
Q7: I’d like to have some Etsy store-like gameplay, as well as donation gameplay with Knitting. For those of you who may have gone down those paths in real life, what were some interesting takeaways or stories you’d like to see represented?
Q8: Lets say a Sim is wearing an awful, itchy sweater that they’re wearing only because somebody gifted it for them. What kind of things would you like to see happen to them?
Q9: I need your best Knitting puns. Feed them to me.
Q10: This is my biggest question, so I saved it for last. Should the “Teach to Knit” interaction mentioned above be autonomous? While this might sound trivial, I feel this is very important for gameplay. I’m interested how people would feel about their level 10 knitter trying to spread their knitting knowledge on others. Let's say you have someone in your family who is a level 10 knitter, if this interaction is autonomous the entire house is going to get a real deep dive into knitting, perhaps constantly.
What are your thoughts on potentially “story intrusive” interactions like this, would you be okay to find your family one day all high-level knitters through natural autonomy? Or should this only be user-directed, meaning on you have the ability to choose who gets schooled on knitting. I’d love to hear your thoughts about these sorts of things.
____________________________________________________________________________
The early design process is a very fun time for me, and I hope I painted a picture of the sort of questions that get brought up during this development stage. Lemme know what you guys think!
Also if you haven't already, please take the object vote! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JZBMHNF
Q1: Crosspack! I’m planning on making Knitting compatible with things like Get to Work Retail Lots (including Mannequins!), Get Together’s Club Rules, and City LIving’s Yard Sale Table. What else would provide fun crosspack functionality? For example, should knitting provide Fame in some way?
Q2: If some “Crochet-Like” objects became craftable through Knitting, how would you personally feel? Happy? Enraged? Strong sense of ennui? We can’t guarantee unique animations for crocheting, but I’d like to still potentially provide them as a craftable object for players.
Q3: There’s a cool crafty desk floating around in concept art that you guys may have seen (49 - 52 in the object vote). What would knitting at one of these desks mean to you, if anything? Asking around the office, nobody knits at a desk, but I’m curious if anyone would find value if the new crafting desk tied in with knitting somehow.
Q4: I’d like Knitting to actually take some time to craft, something Sims can save for later and come back to. In your experience, how long have some of your knitting projects taken? I’ll try not to make it feel too grindy, but definitely longer than it takes to paint in our game.
Q5: If your Sim wanted to knit something, but they couldn't find a place to sit, would you be okay with them standing up and knitting? Asking for a friend...
Q6: Along with the Mentor interaction, I’d like to include a proper “Teach to Knit” interaction. I’d love to have that moment where the Knitting Master granny teaches their grandchild how to knit. For those of you who experienced similar things, what was that experience like for you? I’m curious what people think this should look like - both animation and story wise.
Q7: I’d like to have some Etsy store-like gameplay, as well as donation gameplay with Knitting. For those of you who may have gone down those paths in real life, what were some interesting takeaways or stories you’d like to see represented?
Q8: Lets say a Sim is wearing an awful, itchy sweater that they’re wearing only because somebody gifted it for them. What kind of things would you like to see happen to them?
Q9: I need your best Knitting puns. Feed them to me.
Q10: This is my biggest question, so I saved it for last. Should the “Teach to Knit” interaction mentioned above be autonomous? While this might sound trivial, I feel this is very important for gameplay. I’m interested how people would feel about their level 10 knitter trying to spread their knitting knowledge on others. Let's say you have someone in your family who is a level 10 knitter, if this interaction is autonomous the entire house is going to get a real deep dive into knitting, perhaps constantly.
What are your thoughts on potentially “story intrusive” interactions like this, would you be okay to find your family one day all high-level knitters through natural autonomy? Or should this only be user-directed, meaning on you have the ability to choose who gets schooled on knitting. I’d love to hear your thoughts about these sorts of things.
____________________________________________________________________________
The early design process is a very fun time for me, and I hope I painted a picture of the sort of questions that get brought up during this development stage. Lemme know what you guys think!
Post edited by EA_Cade on
87
Comments
Q1: I'm pleased there will be cross-pack functionality. I'd like to be able to sell crafted items via the retail system and using the sales tables from City Living and Jungle Adventures. A GT knitting club is a must!
Q2: I know how to knit and crochet [both badly] and I wouldn't care about crocheted-looking items falling under 'knitting'. There are better things to be mad about. Like ostriches... they know why. *narrows eyes at ostriches*
Q3: I'd be fine with it being a normal desk. I don't think it needs extra development time that could be used on other things. I'd like to be able to sit and knit anywhere really. Knitting on the beach? Goooood. Knitting in the club? Gooooood.
Q4: It depends on the size/complexity of the project, so I think the game should reflect that. I would say more complex-looking, higher-value items should take longer to craft. Can Sims stop/start a project? Or do they have to start from scratch if they drop the interaction? If they can stop and start, a large project should take a considerable amount of time, maybe around 6 Sim hours? But small items, like some of the toys and planters, could take 1-2 Sim hours. I don't think it needs to be unnecessarily realistically long, as that could get boring. I do think expencive items should take long enough to not feel 'cheaty' though.
Q5: Yes. But sitting is definitely preferred. An option to stand and knit on purpose might be useful for some random scenarios actually. Like, if in the gameplay you've taken the kids to an open world area to play... you don't want the parent to route half-way across the map to find a bench so they can knit, you want them to stand close to the children. So maybe a click on the floor 'knit here' option would be useful?
Q6: My daughter's friends have been learning 'finger knitting' which is very cute and a great way for kids to start to learn. I don't think it should be restricted to grandparents, or even level 10 skill. I personally feel like anyone with a higher skill should teach to that level. So perhaps school-friends could teach one another, as my daughter's friend taught her.
Q7: I leave this one to the Esty-ers.
Q8: Visual discomfort (itching). Odd looks from other Sims in the area. Random comments from other Sims, this should ideally be dependent on the traits of the Sim, mean Sims would make a nasty derogatory joke, good Sims might give an awkward compliment. It would be funny if some Sims randomly LIKED the item though, 'Oooh, where did you buy that? It's so retro!'
Q9: 'Purl of wisdom', 'Spin me a yarn', 'We're part of a tight knit group', 'Pull over! No it's a sweater but thanks for noticing.'
Q10: Nooooooooooo!!!! Otherwise every Sim and his dog will be master knitters within a few hours. It would lessen the gameplay value, I think.
Ok. I'm outta here! Catch me in another THREAD.
A4 In real life, a knitting project can take anywhere from a couple of evenings while watching TV or reading for a scarf or hat to many, many, many days for a complex sweater pattern (mostly for irregular colour patterns). The finer the yarn, the longer it takes; the bulkier the yarn, the faster. Also, if I (personally) try to knit anything with any complexity at all while watching hockey, I am guaranteed to make mistakes and have to rip back and redo huge sections. But maybe that's just me
A5 Standing and knitting is actually a historically real thing! You kept your materials in a pouch or pocket or a basket on your back.
A7 I haven't sold craft items through Etsy but I did a *lot* of research on it, thinking I might. It's super hard to make back the value of your time and materials! At least from my math. I think it's an outlet for not stopping making stuff even though you have nobody left to make it for. Acquaintances who've had success make very simple products. Etsy's awesome for supply shopping, though! Everything from hand-dyed yarns to personalized stitch counters.
A8 I am very sensitive to wool. I definitely scratch myself, and I get red and rashy. A bath soothes it, especially with bath oils. The longer I wear wool, the worse I get.
A10 Not a fan at all of autonomy in any mentorship/teaching activity. But I'd like to be able to solicit lessons from someone.
1) I don't care for Fame, but I'd love to see knitting as elective classes in university.
2) Makes sense to me! So I guess I feel... logical? *focused moodlet intensifies*
3) Maybe the desk could make knitting faster?
4) Maybe different craftables take different times to make?
5) Haha sure, knitting while standing is a possibility. That, or maybe a patch could allow sims to sit on the floor for many activities, including knitting. *winks*
6) Yes, yes, yes. I'd say that having a more skilled sim be able to mentor others is essential. Really, non negotiable.
7)
8) Angry, uncomfortable or sad moodlet, depending on the sim's personality.
9) I could try and think of puns, but I don't see why you'd need-le them. Let's just get to the knitty gritty of this pack.
10) I play with autonomy off, so I can't really answer. But I feel like now's the time to say that I'd love to see random townies just sit on a bench in a park and knit.
Q2: I would LOVE to see things from previous packs being craftable !
Q3: I really like the desk, It gives me workshop vibes. It's very cool and a different experience from the nanny-chairs.
Q4: I think it's a good idea that knitting takse time.
Q5: Maybe knit standing It's not the best idea, It would be nice If Sims could start or finish knitting standing, but not all the time. Maybe they could feel unconfortable knitting standing for a long time? That would be a nice touch!
Q6: My best friend's granny used to teach us knit on her old house, on a big couch, so special the three of us sitting there!
Q7: If Sims are going to be able to sell online, I'd love to see them packaying the things and sending them throw a delivery men!
Q8: Sims scratching their back, trhowing the clother to the floor, complaining with other sims...
Q9: I don't have one hahahaha sorry!
Q10: YES! We need more thing like that in Sims 4! Things that we "can't" control that gives realism to the game.
Thank you! Greetings from Spain!!!
Q1: I don't know if Fame would be a good route, but maybe as a freelance career (similar to Etsy?) where they have to make and mail out orders from home.
Q2: I think content happy would be great as a baseline for knitting after a certain skill level (like 3) and can do enraged knitting where they end up making a mess of an item. Would also love something like getting caught in the yarn or something as a possible thing that can happen.
Q3: If knitting can tie in with sewing, that would be a great benefit for the desk. Not sure if that would be good for THIS pack in particular though.
Q4: Smaller projects have taken hours, much larger projects have taken days to months.
Q5: No to standing up and knitting, yes to sitting on the floor.
Q6: My great-grandma used to teach me how to knit when she was alive. It was a great experience and a memory that I cherish greatly. Would love to see that in this game.
Q7: I've seen and heard stories of people complaining that it's not what they wanted and requesting a refund. Or saying they never got the object. But other times people love it and tell the story of why they wanted that particular item.
Q8: I would love to see the person itchy and in a slightly negative mood wearing it. If the gifter sees the itching I'd love to see them upset in some way about the giftee hating it. Maybe also a negative moodlet if the gifter sees the giftee not wearing their gift for a certain amount of time?
Q9: I'm bad at puns without knitting some time. Please wait for future replies.
Q10: I think autonomous should be okay, but only if they see another person already trying to knit and they happen to be around while it's happening. So I think overall no, but yes in certain circumstances.
2. Happy.
3. I don't knit, but some may prefer knitting at a desk, whilst others knit pretty much anywhere.
4. Some of mum's art projects can take time to do, so yes, it should be a hobby a sim can go back to.
5. Well, they can yarnbomb a university statue standing up, I don't see why not.
6. I've never learned to knit, but teaching grandchildren to knit via mentoring sounds like a good idea.
7. Interestingly, my mum self taught herself how to make Christmas stockings. I still have mine! And donating knitted objects is a fantastic way to help the homeless. I volunteer at a few charity shops, but one also sells knitting wool.
8. Pass on this one.
9. I'm not good at knitting jokes. People have told me that they're baaaaad.
10. Nope, it should be user directed.
I'd be fine with a sim walking and knitting/stand knitting but move to a seat when one becomes available.
Q2: Knit and crochet have many common stitches and there's even a method called tunesian crochet that is really a hybrid of the two, so I'm fine with that. Many times people who do one do the other.
Q3: I feel like it can be useful to store items and draft patterns at, but the actual knitting usually takes place sitting on a couch or in a chair.
Q4: *laughs in it's taken be both 1hr and 10 months to knit a scarf* It is hard to estimate because it really varies depending on the project you are making and the complexity of your stitching. If you decide to classify things you make with size categories (small med large) you'd need to make them increase in time accordingly. I'd say something small like a scarf with a simple stitch would probably take an hour or two where as a blanket or rug could take weeks.
Q5: I mean, it can be done, but you generally have to have your yarn in a bag of some kind on your arm to contain it. It's not ideal.
Q6: I think that idea is lovely. Maybe make it part of a family aspiration?
Q7: I'd like to see that you don't make the items too cheap. If you knit a blanket it's not gonna cost $25. It's gonna be a lot more than that.
Q8: An uncomfortable emote and a confident emote on the creator once they see it.
Q9: I laugh so much during this hobby, you could say it keeps me in stitches! Let me weave you an interesting yarn of the time I made this one project...
Q10: Okay so my take on this is that it may be neat to have traits that go with this. So like a crafter trait and an antithesis of that. And if a crafter sim tries to teach a non-crafter sim, it may not go well. Whereas if they go to teach a crafter sim, then the crafter sim can learn it faster. If that makes sense.
2: Happy!
3: I think it would be cool if you sim could sit at the desk and watch something on a computer or laptop while knitting since that's what I usually do
4: Maybe if the sim has a higher skill level an item could take them less time? When I first started it took me like an hour just to make a square but now I can crank them out in minutes
5: I don't see why not but I would prefer them to TRY and sit before just deciding to stand
6: They definitely should be sitting near each other, constantly looking at each others work, pointing interactions, maybe even taking the item from one sims hand "fixing" something then handing back
7: I would love to see some sort of "etsy" like marketplace, maybe your sim can sit the item out and mark "list on simsty" and instead of it being an immediate thing like painting maybe it takes awhile for someone to buy it, then your sim has to package it up and ship it out through the mailbox
8: I would like to see the sim itching for one, lots of moodlets, relief when they finally take it off
9: I'm fresh out of puns lol
10: Hmm, i'm torn on this one. Because on one hand I hate that I have to force my sims to do everything but on the other this particular interaction seems too intrusive
Q1: Crosspack...SEASONS! Let us knit cute little scarves and mittens. (And yes, please, can we have mittens instead of gloves too?) Cats & Dogs too. Let us knit little things for our pets. Fame really isn't that big a deal for knitting, but definitely let us sell our knitted products on the yard sale tables or at the flea market. That's a common enough thing. Maybe at some point add a spell through Realm of Magic to make knitting easier, or to animate our knitting needles (kind of like Molly Weasley did the Harry Potter movies). A scouting badge for knitting might be interesting. Or adding it to a currently existing badge, if you're going to let kids/teens knit too. Which I hope you do. I started knitting when I was 8.
Q2: You can kind of convert crochet patterns to knitting patterns. It's not easy but I've got a friend who does it since she doesn't knit. It's not going to bother me any, but it'll depend on what items you're planning on tossing in. Lace doilies? I'll yell at you for that one. Lace tatting can't be done with knitting needles. Actually, that's about the only "crocheted" item I'd have issues with.
Q3: I don't knit at my desk either, but STORAGE SPACE! Also, once I'm done knitting something like a blanket I might want to put edging on it, or reshape something that might have gotten knocked out of shape. BLOCKING! That's what it's called. It's something you do with knitted goods, especially if you've had to wash them.
Q4: I can knock out a scarf in a few hours. A pair of mittens or socks? Those will take me a day. Same with hats. A blanket or rugs or something like that? 2-3 days. Toys? I don't know, but I'd think they'd probably take me a few days as well.
Q5: Knitting really needs to be done sitting down, though I have done it standing before. It's extremely uncomfortable and your sim will probably hate you for all eternity. Or at least until you can get them sitting down - or relaxing on their bed. I often relax on my bed with my knitting needles and listen to a book or watch a movie on my husband's computer (with him, of course).
Q6: My Nana handed me a set of knitting needles and told me - at the age of 8 - that I needed to learn to knit because her hands were too arthritic to keep making me knitted vests. She wasn't that patient with me so I hated it. But then my aunt took over and she was an amazing teacher, very patient, very kind. I learned more in the day I spent with her than I did in the three days I'd already spent with Nana. So I'd say traits like "Hates Children" or "Hot-Headed" will impact the ability to teach. "Loner" might be a problem for that too.
Q7: If you run an Etsy-like store, you need to be consistent in creating content for it. If you're not you'll lose customers fast. And there's always a huge amount of competition so watching how prices fluctuate on the site is important as well.
Q8: Uncomfortable moodlet, maybe an itchy moodlet, have their friendship with the person drop a little, have them autonomously change clothes after a bit because - speaking from personal experience - they're not going to want to wear the itchy stuff for too long.
Q9: Knitting puns!
Why did the klepto only knit metal sweaters?
He had to...steel wool!
People that hand make wool sweaters are part of a tight knit group.
A woman that knits her own dresses?
She's knot your average lady!
People say crochet is like knitting.
But it's knot.
What is the similarity between knitting and oysters?
Pearls.
(If you don't know, there's a stitch in knitting called the purl stitch.)
Someone told me that it takes 5 sheep to make a sweater.
I didn't know they could knit!
Q10: No, PLEASE don't make it autonomous. I wouldn't want my techie sims who have NO interest in being creative getting sucked down the knitting rabbit hole. It would actually make my game much harder to work with, especially with my style of gameplay. Maybe have it autonomous for a creative sim to ask someone with knitting to teach them how to knit? I don't know how that would work - my husband says it's potentially a a possibility, depending on how the interface is programmed (yes, he's a programmer and did game dev work for a few years) - but he says with a game like Sims 4 it might be too difficult with all the other options you have to work with.
2. I don’t feel purist about knitting. Maybe their knitting talent lets them crochet - good job, Sims!
3. Now that I have seen the objects, my Sims will always always use the rocking chair rather than a desk.
4. I actually cross stitch rather than knit, but I’ll spend months on a project, just doing a bit when I have time.
5. Knitting and standing seems horrific to me!
6. Yes yes yes! To be clear, *children* can knit? This is really important. I would love some emotions linked to this. A happy emotion of proud grandparent and maybe focused from the child? I’d love a chance for it to turn out wrong, with a chance for an embarrassed mood for child if grandparent is mean about it, or maybe playful if grandparent laughs and makes it fun. My gran never made me feel bad when I messed something up.
7. One of my friends knits hats to donate for premature babies. Could we have a charity item to donate, with empathy points for child and teens, plus good reputation for everyone? Maybe knitting could give emotional control points too? Would save my children playing instruments all day.
8. Uncomfortable or stressed mood, and embarrassed mood for the one who made it. Maybe a chance for them to rip it off in frustration with loss of relationship for the maker?
10. I’d like to teach children autonomously, everyone else has to choose.
Pets: Cats playing with yarn? Even knitting one pet outfit would be cool, especially if it looks kinda not-so-great on the poor cat or dog
There is a fashion stylist career, maybe something could be linked to it?
University: When cleaning statues from yarn, could the sim keep it for knitting? Adding some yarns to inventory somehow? Would certainly give the knitted scarf or sweater a history.
I'd love the variety it brings. Assuming it would be possible to tell the difference in-game, visually and not just text wise.
I would prefer my sim to sit in a normal chair/sofa when knitting. Kinda doing it while chatting or watching tv. At a desk sounds too much like a business, but if we could do both, fine.
No idea. I have knitted a few sweaters hundreds of years ago, it probably took me a couple weeks. In game, I'd think 1 simday would bee to quick (depending on the project), so anything 2-5 simdays with active knitting would be fine with me.
Sure, it would be easy enough to adjust that by adding seating. BUT - hopefully this will not result in NPCs standing everywhere to knit, though? Should only be an option for active household or members of ongoing club meeting. I'd prefer them to sit down. And standing to knit should be an option only for sims with a certain knitting skill, I don't think a newbie would knit it standing.
Love this! No input, sorry.
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They could get some "poor you"/"aw, so sweet" looks from others depending on those sims' traits. They could also get a modlet, but keep in mind that some people love wearing such a gift, and would get a positive modlet. It should be a subtle thing.
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Only direct, please. But should go both ways, the super knitter offering a lesson, and another sim requesting a lesson. This way it could be a bit autonomous without going the full way unless you accept. Having a house full of knitters would be fun only the first time, and annoying in the long run. Please avoid sharing knitting tips like sims now share fish species knowledge, it's not a good thing that my non-fishing sims suddenly learn lots about fish from stranger, would not feel better about it of it was about knitting
Thanks for asking! Looking forward to this pack!
____________________________________________________________________________
The early design process is a very fun time for me, and I hope I painted a picture of the sort of questions that get brought up during this development stage. Lemme know what you guys think!
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2. Absolutely need some crocheted items, that way there is more diversity
3. Being able to knit from a desk, bed, or chair would make sense, as some people work on small scale or stream their work online.
4. Maybe at the start, a project could take 12-24 hours and as they progress their skills they can work up to 5-8 hours (depending on the size of the projects.
5. Yeah I can see some people standing and working on a project, but not for long periods of time, they may get pretty annoyed or sore standing up for a long time.
6. For people teaching others, I think it would be good that they do it side by side, granny starts to show them how to start, and they follow along with them, if they get stuck, she can point towards the needles to show how they can fix their problem.
7. An idea of donating is maybe they donate projects to hospitals for the new babies being born, like a little hat or blanket and they may hear from the hospitals time to time about how much the patients are loving the gifts.
For a store gameplay, it could be like commissioned projects like the freelance, but in addition to that they could pre-make items and sell them on their store, as for a name for such, definitely step away from any direction that may sound like Etsy with recent controversies.
8. Sims who get the item and notice the quality can feel happy about the item, or a tad embarrassed by the quality of it, if it's uncomfortable and wear they may grow restless, fun goes down faster, but try to play it off as if they love it to the people who made it.
9. Oh boy, you're in for a huge list...
-Wool you just leave me in peace?
-I'm working on my Ph.D (projects half done) in knitting
-Yarn is like Chocolate, there's never too much!
-Laughter isn't the best medicine, knitting is. It leaves you in stitches
-People that hand make wool sweaters are part of a tight knit group.
-What is the similarity between knitting and oysters? Pearls!
- The problem with knitting class ...is that I've heard once you've tried it, you're hooked.
-Did you hear the one about the crochet circle? They're a clothes knit group of people.
10. If you did add this, maybe there is a good possibility they would really love this, but some people may get upset about getting help (like the independent toddlers do.)
For those who come from a line of knitters, they could level up faster than those who are not?
A2 I'm cool with it. Animations and a hook would be a bonus, but not required for me to appreciate their addition.
A3 I don't knit at a desk, but desks and large tables are still needed for part of the process... I'm just not sure how or if blocking could be a viable interaction... it would be kinda sorta like "edit" from the media production tables, I guess, with the sim tending a big towel on the table...
A4 It really depends on the size of the project. A cat toy or a doll scarf is a tv show (about an hour), a doll sweater is an afternoon, an adult sweater is all day (if I were to actually knit that long in one sitting) So... small project 1 hour, medium project 4 hours, large project 8 hours... I don't know if you can split them into project size levels or not.
A5 Wouldn't really bug me. They're sims. And it's possible in real life, even if I prefer to sit.
A8 Tug at the collar and cuffs, squirm, maybe shake it out like they're hot when really they're just trying to get it away from their skin for a moment. Definitely tense or uncomfortable moodlets. Maybe angry too, that they have to wear the darn thing if it's a child or teen. If the kid complains (as an interaction) in front of the giftee, they can loose manners, and a reluctant thanks to the giftee gains manners. (I was really bad about this. My grandma made me a sweater in a color I didn't like, and while I told her politely, I did tell her...)
A9 ... I'll come back to this one in a few days, but check out the Lion Brand yarn blog, there must be bunches there.
A10 I'd only be okay with it being autonomous if the student already has a point or two in knitting. So it becomes more of an "ask to teach" than "teach"
Cats and Dogs: Cats playing with yarn. I know the CAS vote already happened and no pet clothes won, and looking at the objects vote, nothing for pets is available. But I'll bring up pet content again just in case you guys change your minds.
A2. I'm a bit confused on what this question is asking. If you're asking if something not intended to be craftable, should be made craftable, then that's a yes for me. I want to be able to knit as many things a possible.
A3. I guess I could see kids knitting at a desk. It would be cute as a group activity for kids to sit and knit together.
A4. I'd like this too. It's more realistic. Maybe time could be based on what the project is.
A5. No, that sounds awkward and unrealistic.
A6. Same, I'd like to see older knitting skilled sims teaching kids and toddlers to knit. And then the kids with the knitting skill could try to teach their friends or younger siblings to knit as well.
A8. I assume they'd get a sad/uncomfortable moodlet.
A10. I guess it's best for all if it were not autonomous. Even though I'd like to see a highly skilled knitter wanting to pass their skills on to their family, I could see people not liking that. It should be player directed.
Here goes:
A1: If you're planning on including yarn balls as pet toys, that would be great. For me, even if it's just a couple of recolors of the existing toys but with some added interactions for cats, I'd be delighted. Also, Laundry: knitted items are tricky to wash so if that's possible to somehow implement with the LD SP it would add an interesting layer. For Seasons, can we have craftable items show up as potential gifts during the relevant holidays, please? A knitting Skill class for Uni (since I'm guessing Knitting will be a new skill).
I'm not so sure about fame for knitting itself, but if there are options to write/create patterns and pattern books to be sold (like songs or books are currently), then absolutely. Especially with the Etsy-like functionality that's being considered.
A2: I'd love to have a crochet animation in addition to knitting, but even without it I wouldn't mind crochet items being included. The more the merrier
A3: I sometimes knit at my desk, just because it's nice to have a spot to put my yarn or the project for a moment without having yarn trailing off to the side. But also, the crafting desk from the concept art would be great to use for finished project blocking (aka making sure the finished item is the right shape) as the final step of creating it. It would also be good for a place to take photos of finished projects for Simstagram
A4: my knitting projects take anything from a few hours (hats, handwarmers, legwarmers) to several days (scarves,toys etc) all the way to weeks (blankets). I'd hope the in-game process wouldn't be quite that long but maybe the length that it takes to write a book for the larger items? And painting length for smaller ones.
A5: if a Sim knits while standing, the most realistic way would be to have them carry a project bag to hold the yarn. I absolutely know people who do that but it's almost inevitably with a handbag/shoulder bag that holds the yarn else you end up chasing yarn around the ground. Then when they're done, they can stash the project bag in their personal inventory until the next time they're working on it. (project bags would be a good thing to have anyway, even if Sims are sitting while knitting)
A6: I think the biggest things for the teaching part for me would be two: teaching by showing (so having the teacher go through the motion/animation slower, then the learner trying to repeat it) and checking the learner's progress (the teaching Sim takes the learner's project and looks it over, then either looks pleased or frogs a section). Emotion-wise, there should be some upset and frustration for the learner at the start, but eventually pride in accomplishing something. When I was teaching my daughter and when I was learning to knit years before, those feelings echoed on both sides, as did the progress from the struggling to mastering the skill.
A7: Oooh, donations, fun! Baby hats are an option, as donations to hospitals/foster homes. Blankets for retirement homes. Also, several charities do fundraising around here by selling knitted and crocheted items, mostly small baby ones since they're not quite that time-consuming.
I've mentioned the pattern creation and selling above: it would be nice to see that as a lot of knitters sell their patterns as well as finished items (Ravelry is *the* place but they're also often on Etsy).
A8: An animation that shows their discomfort would be fun
A9: I got nada, sorry
A10: Nope, not autonomous please. However, I'd love there to be an option for a Sim to see another Sim knitting and *asking* to be taught. So say if there's a parent who's skilled in knitting, their offspring can ask for lessons/mentoring. (hey, this would be a generally good thing to add to the game, rather than just having the skilled Sim start the mentoring/help.)
It's interesting to see what kind of questions come up in the process. Made me think about angles I hadn't considered myself. Thank you.
Q2: The skills are close enough from a total layman's perspective. I wouldn't get apalled from a crocheting item getting produced by the knitting skill. The more variety in end product, the better.
Q5: I'd rather have them kneel in this case, like they do with homework and sometimes reading/talking when they cannot find a seat. But knitting while standing upright is better than dropping the action altogether, so I'd be okay with it.
Q6: I imagine the teacher to demonstrate the technique while the student is watching. Then the student imitates the teacher while the teacher is watching. Depending on skill level, the student might now suffer a silly misshap. Finally the teacher will praise (fist bump?) the student... or roll eyes.
Q8: An occasional itching animation (from Laundry Day), a low level Embarassed moodlet (can potentially kill, but that's half the fun, maybe?)
Q10: No autonomy, please. My active household doesn't have autonomy, so it would not make a difference. However, I wouldn't take kindly to a visitor initiating this interaction onto my sims while they are doing something else. In the past chatting up bowling sims has caused them to drop their game. Also sims might get ideas like teaching other sims at venues like public pools or the police station, leading to immersion-breaking situations and the skill spreading too fast to sims I never intended to have it. In rotational play that would be real bad.
I think that you should have a way to show off your knitting item, talk about knitting, or share knitting tips to provide fame yes.
Q2: If some “Crochet-Like” objects became craftable through Knitting, how would you personally feel? Happy? Enraged? Strong sense of ennui? We can’t guarantee unique animations for crocheting, but I’d like to still potentially provide them as a craftable object for players.
Kinda bothered I'd like to see knitting be knitting. After all, it's knitting. Not crochet! Then again, I probably would overlook it. I'm not a huge crochet enthusiast, just more prefer the organization of one style being that one style.
Q3: There’s a cool crafty desk floating around in concept art that you guys may have seen (49 - 52 in the object vote). What would knitting at one of these desks mean to you, if anything? Asking around the office, nobody knits at a desk, but I’m curious if anyone would find value if the new crafting desk tied in with knitting somehow.
I don't know anyone that knits at a desk, honestly. But I do think that it could tie into giving a creative buff from being around the crafts. That way, they could also do other things at their crafty desk instead of just knitting! What if they are a knitting expert making knitting videos?
Q4: I’d like Knitting to actually take some time to craft, something Sims can save for later and come back to. In your experience, how long have some of your knitting projects taken? I’ll try not to make it feel too grindy, but definitely longer than it takes to paint in our game.
I can only speak for crocheting, but I know that some projects can take days and weeks depending on when you get to them. For a little toy, I'd say a couple of hours.
Q5: If your Sim wanted to knit something, but they couldn't find a place to sit, would you be okay with them standing up and knitting? Asking for a friend...
Knitting while waiting for your class to start in Uni would be awesome. But I'd rather the Sim try to sit down. There'd be nowhere for the yarn to go if you knit while standing in real life.
Q6: Along with the Mentor interaction, I’d like to include a proper “Teach to Knit” interaction. I’d love to have that moment where the Knitting Master granny teaches their grandchild how to knit. For those of you who experienced similar things, what was that experience like for you? I’m curious what people think this should look like - both animation and story wise.
I haven't learned from anyone else, only from watching YouTube videos. But I did experience learning to sew from my grandmother, and she would constantly check over at the stitches and correct them for me. It was always not as good as hers! She would encourage me and told me anything I made looked wonderful. Even when I got discouraged. So for Sims, I think it'd be a very intimate interaction for a one on one Sim, but it would be cool if you could show multiple Sims at once and have them follow instructions as well.
Q7: I’d like to have some Etsy store-like gameplay, as well as donation gameplay with Knitting. For those of you who may have gone down those paths in real life, what were some interesting takeaways or stories you’d like to see represented? Knitting to donate is something that I've known people to do a lot. It would be awesome that if you dropped items to donate into the mailbox, you'd get little post cards thanking you or see your items used around the world by other Sims. Even still, with selling them, it'd be nice to see your items used around the world! I like the idea of making custom ordered knit items to send out.
Q8: Lets say a Sim is wearing an awful, itchy sweater that they’re wearing only because somebody gifted it for them. What kind of things would you like to see happen to them?
Scratching, showing off the sweater and being grumpy, feeling embarassed, crossing their arms to hide it when it's called out. On the other cheek, if their relationship was high enough with the Sim, maybe they love it and show it off happily! Itchy but satisfying!
Q9: I need your best Knitting puns. Feed them to me.
This is a rather tight-knit friendship. You don't NEED-le more puns! You'll have all your work done in a stitch. But I could tell a yarn if you'd like!
Q10: This is my biggest question, so I saved it for last. Should the “Teach to Knit” interaction mentioned above be autonomous? While this might sound trivial, I feel this is very important for gameplay. I’m interested how people would feel about their level 10 knitter trying to spread their knitting knowledge on others. Let's say you have someone in your family who is a level 10 knitter, if this interaction is autonomous the entire house is going to get a real deep dive into knitting, perhaps constantly.
I think the more autonomy the better! Let those high level knitters knit til their knitter is sore! And tell all the Sims about their knitting! Knit everywhere!
Also on the fame topic, I don't know any famous knitters and its more like a hobby and something a sim could sell in the aforementioned sale table and get to work than something for fame. Also, being able to take a knitting class at uni...not something that happens in real life but hey.
Q2: I'm cool with crochet like items being available, I'm not a knitter/crocheter so I honestly can't tell the difference between a crochet'd item and a knitted item. Maybe it would 🐸🐸🐸🐸 off people in the hobby but whatever its the sims. The more objects our sims can make the better.
Q3: Personally I've tried to learn how to knit at my computer desk, I'd watch sim youtubers and knit at the same time. It worked out but I gave up on it cause my knitting kept falling off the needle and I couldn't get the hook back in at the right spot. Hopefully you guys can make them being able to multi-task? Knit and watch TV and stuff. Which by the way, off topic from knitting, but maybe a feature to watch TV on computers? A lot of my generation and gen Z watch TV shows on our laptops and computers these days...Simflix and chill...................ya.........
Q4: One sim day would be good for me. Maybe as the sim gets better at knitting it goes quicker though? Cause a novice knitter would take decades to make a stuffed animal but a level 10 knitter who sales them in shops can probably bust them out rather quick (I mean...quick for knitting that is). One sim day for a novice and the same amount of time for painting for a level 10. Maybe that can be the perk for reaching level 10, quicker knitting.
Q5: I'd love it if the sim would sit on the floor and knit.
Q6: My grandma tried to teach me how to crochet and it was a lot of her sighing and me messing something up.
Q7: I don't have anything to say about stories for Etsy but I would love this! An online store feature for anything a sim makes is high up on my list, not just knitting. I'd love to be able to sell paintings and other stuff my sim makes on an online store (and it take a while to sell instead of being instant). Would be such a great feature for rags to riches gameplay, instead of just selling something to air.
Q8: Uncomfortable moodlet, the sim itches themselves. Them taking the sweater off once the sim who gifted it is off the lot. Maybe even a "oh...I love it" really bad acting animation just so they don't hurt their feelings and the gifter being super happy that they "like it". Would like a way to disable the itchy feature cause as much as that is funny and adorable I'd like my sim to be able to wear something. Like those party animal hats that do those emotional buffs, great idea but it makes it so its unwearable for the most part unless you really want them to get emotional buffs. TBH if this takes too much time and money to make I'd rather the itchy feature be disregarded, its not high up on my list like the online store feature and the cats playing with yarn are.
Q9: found a lot here lol: https://www.etsy.com/market/knitting_puns
Q10: I would love for "talk about knitting" to be autonomous, not teaching knitting itself. It gives sims like that a much needed personality quirk. Idk if y'all could implement it but maybe sims who don't want to knit or have no interest can get a bored moodlet? Finding out the family are all high-level knitters just because one sim loves to knit is a bit much. But I'd like for them to just, out of the blue, just go ham about talking about knitting, maybe that could give a small little boost of knitting skill but not as much as full blown mentoring.
a1: crosspack is always great! i'll second the cats & dogs ones, though have a feeling that's already being incorporated, the winterfest gifting, elective classes are things i wouldn't have considered on my own, and the addition to video making is brilliant, since that's something so many of my sims like to do, share their knowledge
a3: while i'd love those desks (and i voted for one and its matching table), it's not even remotely required. maybe if one does make it in, it somehow reduces knitting time if used? since all the materials are right there
i'm personally a big fan of individualized work/crafting stations and know if i were to get into knitting, i'd wind up having a desk or other work area devoted specifically to it
a5: i'd like to take the time to point out finland's 'heavy metal knitting championships' here. people actually stand, dance, or headbang around onstage, rocking out to live metal music while trying to knit furiously. since i've got plans to create some 'metal knitters' like this myself when the pack drops, the ability to stand while knitting feels like a requirement. (while i'd love them to be able to dance, or at least bob in place, while doing it would be nice, i don't see that fitting into an animation budget, alas. esp for what is probably such a small percentage of use)
a8: oh man, where to begin... so many ideas for shifting moodlets from embarrassed to uncomfortable and more... if the sweater gets wet, does it shrink? i'm trying to find a way for this to become a death type, but also trying to be nice...
a9: not even really a knitting pun, but slightly related to it (embroidery)...and blatantly stolen from an author who used the phrase as a book title, but 'crewel lye' is how i've purposefully been going out of my way to spell 'cruel lie' ever since i read that book back in middle school
a10: i'm actually torn on this... i love the idea and it makes sense, and i'd want several of my households to be able to have the skill passed along like this, but there are others where i'd want people to actively avoid learning the skill for whatever reason (likely different reasons based on sim/household)
in theory i love this, esp if there were some even small way to control the autonomity (maybe only can teach those already with the skill? only teach friends and not lower relationship levels?) but, seeing how the unlocked 'enchanting greeting' still constantly annoys me whenever a sim decides to use it on their own... i dunno
this was the thing that reminded me of that:
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/nightmarish-exchange-between-seller-and-bargain-hunting-customer/news-story/f6c3c16ce9e8184e9a606503cf82eb61
if you do do a etsy/online store sort of thing in the sims, maybe an angry moodlet from a rude customer trying to get one of their hard-worked objects for cheap.
Q1. Crosspack Features
Seasons - homemade knit clothing (sweaters, hats) should leave Sims extra warm, even when set as their everyday wear in hot temperatures
Cats & Dogs - pets should be able to play with yarn balls which they could get out of the Knitting Baskets along with toddlers!! Toddlers and pets should be able to use the Knitting Basket gameplay object to retrieve a yarn ball toy.
Parenthood - Knitting should be a way for child and teen sims to gain emotional control when they are angry (similar to how they can gain this through jogging or writing in their diary
Get Together - Knitting club would be great, but we desperately need new club icons to go along with new pack content! The icons are already designed so a couple artsy related ones could be thrown into the club system as well!
Outdoor Retreat - Sims should be able to knit by the campfire
City Living - New knittable furniture should appear at the flea market
Discover University - If knitting is a specific skill, it should receive a new elective class at University. It'd also be great to get some gameplay out of the yarnbomb interaction (maybe Sims who yarnbomb, or clear the yarnbomb could receive a small amount of the knitting skill?)
Tiny Living - The knitted side table/pouf item should be knittable! (similar to 104-107)
Q2. Crocheted Objects
Definitely, I don't mind there being no specific new animation for it!
Q3. Crafting Desk
This desk should be able to have storage functionality (similar to the Knitting Basket). I feel like larger objects, such as 68-69, 104-107 should only be available at the Desk. This would provide a bit more in-depth gameplay into the pack, and some realism, nobody would be knitting an entire mailbox cover or pouffe while sitting on a couch!
Q4. Knitting Time
I'm not someone who knits in real life, so I have no real insight into this. I just would like projects to take a long time, so that they are more rewarding and the gameplay doesn't feel like it's just as fast as heading into build-buy and buying the item itself.
Q5. Standing
Sims should sit while they knit, and if they don't have a place to knit, they should kneel and knit. Kneeling animations are already in the game, so this should be an option! Standing and knitting doesn't seem very feasible.
Q6. Teach to Knit
Would love this, but think it should be locked behind level 7-8 (if its a 10 level skill) or 4 (if it's a 5 level skill). Teaching to knit should also add to Character Values if Parenthood is installed.
Q7. Online Store
Perhaps this could be added through the Odd Job system? I.e. a request for a sweater, or a toy, etc. The Odd Job system is underutilized!
Q8. Itchy Sweaters
I'd love to see Sims who wear itchy clothing for too long get some sort of rash or hives (temporarily), and a negative moodlet making them uncomfortable. This should only be applied to clothing made by Sims at a lower skill level. (Maybe higher skill levels can have Sims select from "low-itchiness wool"?)
Q9. Knitting Puns
Wow, that sweater sure is knitchy!
[Sim Name] tried knitting for the first time, and they're hooked!
University Class Name: How to Become a G You Knit
Q10. Teach to Knit Autonomy
This should be user-selected, otherwise the entire family will become knitting aficionados without your say!
Q1. A fun crossover idea might be with Laundry Day. If your sim puts their wool sweater in the washing machine/dryer, there could be a chance the sweater will shrink/be ruined. It’s always best to hand wash knitted clothing! As other people have said here, a knitting club should be possible with Get Together. Knitting circles are a thing, and it’s a great time to socialize and learn new knitting tips and tricks. Oh, and knitted clothing should be suitable for cold weather wear in Seasons.
Q2. Crochet and knitting are pretty different from each other, but as long as most of the objects are knitted and not crocheted, I’d be okay with it all.
Q3. I knit at my desk a lot, but not always. I think being able to sit down at a desk or table and knit should be an option.
Q4. A sweater should take longer than a scarf, and stuffed animals/toys can take a good chunk of time too, depending on how complex they are. I just finished knitting my first sweater, and it took me a little over a month because I spent a lot of my free time working on it.
Q5. No! Knitting standing up isn’t practical (your yarn ball has to sit somewhere) and it’s uncomfortable. Your sim should always be sitting when knitting.
Q6. I learned to knit from really amazing knitters at a yarn shop. They would tell me what to do, but if I needed help they could take my knitting needles and show me what to do too. A “teach to knit” interaction should involve the knitter and teacher sitting together and sort of work on a project together.
Q7. I’ve knitted preemie baby hats and sweaters for a local hospital (though I haven’t had the chance to give the clothes to the hospital yet
Q8. They should be scratching themselves and be itchy, perhaps even getting an uncomfortable moodlet. Maybe if the itchy-sweater sim hugs someone, the hugged sim could get a short 'itchy' uncomfortable moodlet too!
Q9. Oh shoot, I don’t know any puns!
Q10. I’m not sure if I’m a huge fan of the autonomously teaching knitting to other sims in the household. However, I think master knitters should be able to ask to teach others to knit, and new knitters should be able to ask masters to teach them.
Q1: Crosspack! I’m planning on making Knitting compatible with things like Get to Work Retail Lots (including Mannequins!), Get Together’s Club Rules, and City LIving’s Yard Sale Table. What else would provide fun crosspack functionality? For example, should knitting provide Fame in some way?
I think that you should have a way to show off your knitting item, talk about knitting, or share knitting tips to provide fame yes.
I like the influencer story idea or even taking video of your knitting like a youtuber. I was definitely planning to sell them for a living so this would be pretty cool.
Q2: If some “Crochet-Like” objects became craftable through Knitting, how would you personally feel? Happy? Enraged? Strong sense of ennui? We can’t guarantee unique animations for crocheting, but I’d like to still potentially provide them as a craftable object for players.
Kinda bothered I'd like to see knitting be knitting. After all, it's knitting. Not crochet! Then again, I probably would overlook it. I'm not a huge crochet enthusiast, just more prefer the organization of one style being that one style.
The more the better!!! I'd be happy with crochet items!!! I'm always up for choices and variety.
Q3: There’s a cool crafty desk floating around in concept art that you guys may have seen (49 - 52 in the object vote). What would knitting at one of these desks mean to you, if anything? Asking around the office, nobody knits at a desk, but I’m curious if anyone would find value if the new crafting desk tied in with knitting somehow.
I don't know anyone that knits at a desk, honestly. But I do think that it could tie into giving a creative buff from being around the crafts. That way, they could also do other things at their crafty desk instead of just knitting! What if they are a knitting expert making knitting videos?
Yes yes yes to all of this. It's not common but I would love for it to be an option. More variety in telling different stories, and it's just such a cool crafting table to not be able to use it.
Q4: I’d like Knitting to actually take some time to craft, something Sims can save for later and come back to. In your experience, how long have some of your knitting projects taken? I’ll try not to make it feel too grindy, but definitely longer than it takes to paint in our game.
I can only speak for crocheting, but I know that some projects can take days and weeks depending on when you get to them. For a little toy, I'd say a couple of hours.
I can't speak on the time exactly but it should take long!!! I want sims to put work in. I'm one of those simmers who never fast foward during gameplay. I love to watch all of the little details and it feels like cheating when sims learn or do something too fast.
Q5: If your Sim wanted to knit something, but they couldn't find a place to sit, would you be okay with them standing up and knitting? Asking for a friend...
Knitting while waiting for your class to start in Uni would be awesome. But I'd rather the Sim try to sit down. There'd be nowhere for the yarn to go if you knit while standing in real life.
Nope. Not feeling this one. Personally I would never do that. It would be 10× better if sims could sit on the ground cross legged or any type of way to knit. And yes I have knitted on the sidewalk 😅😅
Q6: Along with the Mentor interaction, I’d like to include a proper “Teach to Knit” interaction. I’d love to have that moment where the Knitting Master granny teaches their grandchild how to knit. For those of you who experienced similar things, what was that experience like for you? I’m curious what people think this should look like - both animation and story wise.
What's most important to me though would be the grandparents being able to sit their grandkids on their lap for example and teach knitting. That's how I learned from my grandmother and I still have those warm fuzzy memories. Please, it would be so sweet if it's possible 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 and we definitely need more togetherness moments.
Alternatively sims being able to sit on the floor cross legged in front of the fireplace and knit/teach would be so cozy and amazing. Imagine that on a cold stormy winter night by the fireplace.🤭🤭🤭 so many stories can unfold.
Q7: I’d like to have some Etsy store-like gameplay, as well as donation gameplay with Knitting. For those of you who may have gone down those paths in real life, what were some interesting takeaways or stories you’d like to see represented? Knitting to donate is something that I've known people to do a lot. It would be awesome that if you dropped items to donate into the mailbox, you'd get little post cards thanking you or see your items used around the world by other Sims. Even still, with selling them, it'd be nice to see your items used around the world! I like the idea of making custom ordered knit items to send out.
I don't have too much of an opinion here I'm up for anything!! I just know I want to sell them on that vendor table lol
Q8: Lets say a Sim is wearing an awful, itchy sweater that they’re wearing only because somebody gifted it for them. What kind of things would you like to see happen to them?
Scratching, showing off the sweater and being grumpy, feeling embarassed, crossing their arms to hide it when it's called out. On the other cheek, if their relationship was high enough with the Sim, maybe they love it and show it off happily! Itchy but satisfying!
You hit the head on the nail. I love all of these ideas you mentioned!
Q9: I need your best Knitting puns. Feed them to me.
Okay. I couldn't joke to save my life. I'll leave it to my fellow simmers 😅😅😅😅
Q10: This is my biggest question, so I saved it for last. Should the “Teach to Knit” interaction mentioned above be autonomous? While this might sound trivial, I feel this is very important for gameplay. I’m interested how people would feel about their level 10 knitter trying to spread their knitting knowledge on others. Let's say you have someone in your family who is a level 10 knitter, if this interaction is autonomous the entire house is going to get a real deep dive into knitting, perhaps constantly.
I personally prefer if this was not autonomous I really like to build my sims skills individually. And thankyou by the way!!! You guys are awesome I'm so excited for this pack 😁😁😁😁😁