I've played a couple of MMORPG's, and quite frankly, there's so, so, so much that can go wrong as far as the community goes that it's just not a good fit for this franchise. The Sims has always been about being master of your own world, telling your stories, developing your characters, building your own beautiful dream buildings and architectural monstrosities, being free to use mods and cheats to enhance your gameplay...but you can't do that if the game is online. They might give us a good building system and CAS, but the world will be out of your hands and in the hands of the devs and a gaggle of other players.
If you want to play your sim as a single sim who just chills and does their own thing alone, be prepared to be bombarded by people who all want to force your sim to be their friend, their lover, join their guild, whatever. Not to mention the trolls, the scammers, the botters trying to sell you simoleons for real money on their sketchy websites, and all of the other ills of online games. Oh, and don't forget the fact that there will be quests and in-game events that will require you to interact or party up with other players...which means random people running up to you trying to get their points when you just want to have your sim hang out at the park and fish all day. And you just know that those group quests are going to be linked to progression, so certain skills or careers won't be advanced if you don't complete them.
And, have I mentioned how awkward it is to get random guild and friend requests from other players who have never even talked to you before? I mean, come on! Try and have a conversation with someone before you toss them a random friend invite or try and get them in your guild! If we haven't had a nice conversation and been convinced that I might like to hang with you some more, I'm going to turn you down because I don't know you like that! It's annoying enough when you're playing an MMORPG and just running around mashing some monsters and enjoying the lone adventurer life, but in a Sims game...? Yeah, no. Random autonomous actions that don't turn off even when you have autonomy off (like, autonomous "Check Toddler," which makes your adult sim drop whatever they were doing to go check the kid and drops anything you had in the kid's action que disappear as a result, basically overriding everything you had set up because the game decided that this interaction makes the world stop...) are bad enough. We don't need randos trying to interact with us inserting their socials into our action ques to interrupt our flow.
So, no. Keep that online mess for spin-offs. Main series Sims titles should be offline, single-player experiences. If multi-player is ever a thing, it should be optional and invite-only, so people can play with those who want to tell the same story or work toward a common goal together and not be plagued by immature people (young and old alike) getting in their way or sabotaging their hard work.
If this is a thing, I think it would be a great platform as a support online group. However, it could lead to a "clique" group. I'm fine with the former not the latter. I've seen a lot of this "clique" or discord on twitter. It's great if its lead to a positive outcome, but most of the time, it's pushing away other people. I personally prefer to be solo in playing my games without any attachment to any group/discord, because I don't have a time to keep up with any drama. I already have enough socialisation IRL. I just want to play games & chill out.
Other than that, how can one monitor it? To ensure that there's no bullying, harassment, fake identity, etc.?
I think I would give up on the sims altogether if it ever did happen!
The last time they tried to do an online game, it failed and if this is what TS4 is like, well it worries me how bad TS5 will be...might be lucky to only build a wall in that game
I like the gallery being online. The rest... just no please. If I want to play online with friends, there's plenty of other games to go to do that and I do do that. I play the sims when I want to play alone.
No! For a TON of reasons. Apart from anything, the sims modding community is HUGE, and by making an online game EA are gonna alienate some of their best customers. I play vanilla, so that doesn't affect me, but I know that a lot of people will be seething.
The idea of an online sims game has been done before. Sims Online went bust. And EA lurve charging us for DLC, and how on earth is that gonna work in an online game?
All of my arguments so far have been about how bad it is for EA. My personal opinion? If the Sims 5 is online, I'm not playing it. I don't like online games, atall. It's just another cash grab, and seems like it. I am all for multiplayer, but a cloud hub? Just NO. It'll turn into another dating simulator, and I don't want some nine year old in my game, messing with my sims. If they make Sims 5, I'm outta here.
No, thank you Maxis. I'd get bullied I'm sure because I go off at a tangent and do my own thing and mess something up. I'd rather mess up my own game without recriminations to myself.
I initially voted yes, but now the more I think about it, perhaps it's not such a good idea. We have seen what a mess Olympus has caused for The Sims 4, I definitely wouldn't want it to happen again. My only reasoning for perhaps wanting this is because I never got to experience The Sims Online and I'm very curious to see how it would all work. In my head I'm having visions of it being like IMVU or Habbo... are online worlds and interactive communities still a thing nowadays?
The first post had many questions in it. I answered to this one: Considering the previous online Sims games have failed (and that Sims 4 was originally supposed to be online), do you think the same will happen to Sims 5
I really don't have much faith in any future online sims game. If you only look at Twitch streamers and they hardly do any playing because most of the time they just chat.
Sorry for the confusion, the question was supposed to be "do you think this is a good idea", the other questions were just things to keep in mind when answering.
Absolutely not. Given how people interact with eachother on forums I'd say even a childish game like the sims will be filled with trolls wanting to ruin everything for as many others they can. I never buy online games, unless the game mechanics specifically is about helping others, for the game to work.
My main hangup with online has to do with the business of games and where they've ended up. Online usually means more predatory monetization. It means things like free to play with microtransactions, where they look for anything and everything they can to up the amount of money you're able to spend on the game.
I do think an optional co-op mode is not quite the same as a fundamentally online version of the sims, though I'm not sure the development and design focus is worth it when this game's audience seems to be primarily interested in a near-complete-control life simulation single-player. Anybody else in the mix means less personal control over what's going on and that would clearly be a dealbreaker for a significant portion of people who play this.
LOL Gawd, I can just imagine what that would do to the franchise. And, really, most players would try it a few times just to see what it is like, then wander off to find something else to play. I don't understand EA's need to take this game and turn it into something only tweens would want to play. Here's an idea for you, EA, make an on line Sims game for the tweens, then get back to creating a true Sims game again. With all this new technology at their fingertips, along with a ton of ideas for new content this community has come up with in the last six years, one would think EA and Maxis might understand what the players want by now. But, nope, EA wants those microtransactions and loot boxes so it can charge even more for dlc. And the dlc we have paid for lately hasn't exactly been stellar content by any stretch of the imagination. Unless one doesn't care about cross-pack gameplay, or broken features, or all the glitches. Whenever it takes a year and several packs to flesh out one feature (I'm looking at you, off-the-grid lot trait), that's when you start to realize there's no one at the wheel when it comes to how, or when, content is being created. New content is coming at us from every direction, but none of it feels as if it adds anything to the core game. And if Sims5 does become an on line game, this trend will become even worse than it is now. So I won't be looking to buy Sims5 if EA turns it into a loot box extravaganza, and I lose control over what happens in my game. A game I don't care to share with anybody, but can't play unless I am connected to the internet. That just doesn't sound like it'd be much fun to play, so I'll pass.
No. I think that an online sims game will give so many limitations! Mods and CC would be limited so a big side of this community would change. Family oriented gameplay will not be as good for sure since we would be more interested in social events and things to do together while playing.
I really hope for them to NEVER think about something like that anymore. The Sims 4 is the way it is do to its limitations and it would be really dumb if they try to do it again! That would be history repeating itself and nobody here, no matter what sims game you love the most, wants another disaster a la SimCity 2013 reboot! That would be the end of the franchise!
I hate the idea. I haven't disliked any sims related idea more. I don't want online or multiplayer or people visiting my game or anything. I want to play it myself. That's it.
No, it's not a good idea for me. And I'm the one playing so, I don't want a multiplayer game. lol
I would love to see a new Sim game, however, I'm pretty sure they rather forget TS2 or TS3 even existed and move on with a new generation of players who love Candy Crush and other flashpan games so they can sell them many microtransactions. A generation that prefers buy, throw down, buy, throw down, is more of what EA is looking to use, I'm not one of them. I'm type of customer who expects something for my money and a game full of microtransactions is not at the top of my list.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
EA already has The Sims Freeplay And The Sims Mobile. They don't need a third online multi-player game. And honestly, not having bought anything for TS4, it would be just as easy not to buy anything of TS5 either if EA makes it as such. We're no longer a captive audience because competition is giving us more options. EA seems to keep forgetting that.
Hi! the truth is that I remember sims 2 online, it didn't work well, maybe that's why I don't want to or it's strange to be able to think about them now.
I voted no, naturally, but my opinion doesn't mean as much as Maxis, who has shut down an online opportunity for The Sims not once but TWICE. And that is within The Sims franchise alone; we've seen what happened when they tried it with SimCity, too.
The Sims Online was barely sustainable. A rebranding from The Sims Online to EA World did nothing to help it. Turns out sitting in front of yourr computer, watching your Sims skill up in real-time to make money is quite boring. Who would've thought? I had the opportunity to play The Sims Online through an unnamed private server and it was fun for about a day or two before it got terribly boring. It's also not anything like The Sims; it plays so differently. There is no way I would pay real money for that experience.
And then we have the second failed opportunity, The Sims 4 (Olympus). It was revealed that Maxis themselves shut down the idea because it just wasn't fun.
I think any consideration for an online mode, optional or not, has to be on the backburner right now. Live mode game design is awful right now, and they need developers focused on making that a fun, innovative experience again.
Do I feel it might happen? Yes. Do I want it? Absolutely not. The thought of an online only Sims game... Chances are I would finally cut ties. Considering how 4 has gone, it would have to be a ridiculously amazing game and even then I would only buy in begrudgingly.
I would say there needs to be two games. Have an online spin-off for those who are open to it. Make it the cash cow, as to not ruin the TS4 successor. Similar to how we now have Sims FreePlay and Sims Mobile as well as TS4. I don't like the concept period,as once those servers are shut down, you're out whatever it cost you. And then there's the whole issue of microtransactions and software-as-a-service/subscription model that I strongly oppose period (i.e. Microsoft software like Office).
And then, have a very good game with the features others have been asking, and take advantage of modern game engines and hardware to make an excellent successor to TS4. I don't mind online functionality, just not multiplayer. I mean, nothing more than a successor to our Gallery, and something like Steam Workshop integration to allow mods to automatically update. I have fewer mods than I really want, and don't update them as much as I should (usually, only when they break) just because they are such a PITA to keep updated. I dabble (not a big fan of, however) Garry's Mod, and I have several mods. They all usually automatically update, whether it be due to improvement by the mod's designer or in response to a patch. Only time I've had trouble is when either they conflict, or were abandoned by their creators.
Comments
If you want to play your sim as a single sim who just chills and does their own thing alone, be prepared to be bombarded by people who all want to force your sim to be their friend, their lover, join their guild, whatever. Not to mention the trolls, the scammers, the botters trying to sell you simoleons for real money on their sketchy websites, and all of the other ills of online games. Oh, and don't forget the fact that there will be quests and in-game events that will require you to interact or party up with other players...which means random people running up to you trying to get their points when you just want to have your sim hang out at the park and fish all day. And you just know that those group quests are going to be linked to progression, so certain skills or careers won't be advanced if you don't complete them.
And, have I mentioned how awkward it is to get random guild and friend requests from other players who have never even talked to you before? I mean, come on! Try and have a conversation with someone before you toss them a random friend invite or try and get them in your guild! If we haven't had a nice conversation and been convinced that I might like to hang with you some more, I'm going to turn you down because I don't know you like that! It's annoying enough when you're playing an MMORPG and just running around mashing some monsters and enjoying the lone adventurer life, but in a Sims game...? Yeah, no. Random autonomous actions that don't turn off even when you have autonomy off (like, autonomous "Check Toddler," which makes your adult sim drop whatever they were doing to go check the kid and drops anything you had in the kid's action que disappear as a result, basically overriding everything you had set up because the game decided that this interaction makes the world stop...) are bad enough. We don't need randos trying to interact with us inserting their socials into our action ques to interrupt our flow.
So, no. Keep that online mess for spin-offs. Main series Sims titles should be offline, single-player experiences. If multi-player is ever a thing, it should be optional and invite-only, so people can play with those who want to tell the same story or work toward a common goal together and not be plagued by immature people (young and old alike) getting in their way or sabotaging their hard work.
If this is a thing, I think it would be a great platform as a support online group. However, it could lead to a "clique" group. I'm fine with the former not the latter. I've seen a lot of this "clique" or discord on twitter. It's great if its lead to a positive outcome, but most of the time, it's pushing away other people. I personally prefer to be solo in playing my games without any attachment to any group/discord, because I don't have a time to keep up with any drama. I already have enough socialisation IRL. I just want to play games & chill out.
Other than that, how can one monitor it? To ensure that there's no bullying, harassment, fake identity, etc.?
The last time they tried to do an online game, it failed and if this is what TS4 is like, well it worries me how bad TS5 will be...might be lucky to only build a wall in that game
The idea of an online sims game has been done before. Sims Online went bust. And EA lurve charging us for DLC, and how on earth is that gonna work in an online game?
All of my arguments so far have been about how bad it is for EA. My personal opinion? If the Sims 5 is online, I'm not playing it. I don't like online games, atall. It's just another cash grab, and seems like it. I am all for multiplayer, but a cloud hub? Just NO. It'll turn into another dating simulator, and I don't want some nine year old in my game, messing with my sims. If they make Sims 5, I'm outta here.
Repose en paix mamie tu va me manquer :
1923-2016 mamie
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Sorry for the confusion, the question was supposed to be "do you think this is a good idea", the other questions were just things to keep in mind when answering.
.~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~..~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'♥'~•.,,.•~'
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I would not buy Sims 5 if it is online.
I do think an optional co-op mode is not quite the same as a fundamentally online version of the sims, though I'm not sure the development and design focus is worth it when this game's audience seems to be primarily interested in a near-complete-control life simulation single-player. Anybody else in the mix means less personal control over what's going on and that would clearly be a dealbreaker for a significant portion of people who play this.
I really hope for them to NEVER think about something like that anymore. The Sims 4 is the way it is do to its limitations and it would be really dumb if they try to do it again! That would be history repeating itself and nobody here, no matter what sims game you love the most, wants another disaster a la SimCity 2013 reboot! That would be the end of the franchise!
I would love to see a new Sim game, however, I'm pretty sure they rather forget TS2 or TS3 even existed and move on with a new generation of players who love Candy Crush and other flashpan games so they can sell them many microtransactions. A generation that prefers buy, throw down, buy, throw down, is more of what EA is looking to use, I'm not one of them. I'm type of customer who expects something for my money and a game full of microtransactions is not at the top of my list.
The Sims Online was barely sustainable. A rebranding from The Sims Online to EA World did nothing to help it. Turns out sitting in front of yourr computer, watching your Sims skill up in real-time to make money is quite boring. Who would've thought? I had the opportunity to play The Sims Online through an unnamed private server and it was fun for about a day or two before it got terribly boring. It's also not anything like The Sims; it plays so differently. There is no way I would pay real money for that experience.
And then we have the second failed opportunity, The Sims 4 (Olympus). It was revealed that Maxis themselves shut down the idea because it just wasn't fun.
I think any consideration for an online mode, optional or not, has to be on the backburner right now. Live mode game design is awful right now, and they need developers focused on making that a fun, innovative experience again.
I would say there needs to be two games. Have an online spin-off for those who are open to it. Make it the cash cow, as to not ruin the TS4 successor. Similar to how we now have Sims FreePlay and Sims Mobile as well as TS4. I don't like the concept period,as once those servers are shut down, you're out whatever it cost you. And then there's the whole issue of microtransactions and software-as-a-service/subscription model that I strongly oppose period (i.e. Microsoft software like Office).
And then, have a very good game with the features others have been asking, and take advantage of modern game engines and hardware to make an excellent successor to TS4. I don't mind online functionality, just not multiplayer. I mean, nothing more than a successor to our Gallery, and something like Steam Workshop integration to allow mods to automatically update. I have fewer mods than I really want, and don't update them as much as I should (usually, only when they break) just because they are such a PITA to keep updated. I dabble (not a big fan of, however) Garry's Mod, and I have several mods. They all usually automatically update, whether it be due to improvement by the mod's designer or in response to a patch. Only time I've had trouble is when either they conflict, or were abandoned by their creators.