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Are you Tired of Kits?

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  • ChadSims2ChadSims2 Posts: 5,090 Member
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    It's almost been a year since we got the last stuff pack and here comes 2 more kits I can officially say I hate them if I want clothing I'm turning to modders not the Sims team they pick the worst styles and colors.
    Sims 4 went from "You Rule" to "One of the stories we want you to tell"
  • ncisGibbs02ncisGibbs02 Posts: 2,018 Member
    edited January 2022
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    I want a new stuff pack! 😢. We need one season free of kits!

    If kits are going to be on every road map then they’re a priority and that means resources go to make them. It must interfere with other packs.

    I have 4 kits thus far.
    Throwback, Country Kitchen, Oasis Courtyard & Industrial Loft.

    I hope we won’t get another 9 or 10 this year.
    Now alternating between Sims 2,3 and 4! 😊☕️🌞
  • mia_noelle97mia_noelle97 Posts: 575 Member
    Other (explain please)
    I like them. I own all but two of them and I really enjoy them. I’ve been spending a lot of time in CAS recently making sims to put on the gallery and it’s nice to have lots of options since I don’t use cc on sims I want to put on the gallery. And I really enjoy the build ones I have as well. I did get a bit tired of them when that was all they were releasing but I don’t regret buying any of them.
  • skybird14skybird14 Posts: 90 Member
    Neutral about Kits
    Generally speaking, I am neutral to kits. I have a few that appealed but then there has been a couple of others that I've not cared for and consequently have not purchased but I think they serve a purpose for the consols players and those that prefer not to use CC. That saying though, I think that there have been too many kits released lately as opposed to the more substantial packs such as expansion and game packs which I think simmers are wanting to see.
  • DoloresGreyDoloresGrey Posts: 3,490 Member
    edited January 2022
    Neutral about Kits
    I am just disappointed they have only released one gameplay kit so far. Why. I don't understand.
    I like kits I just wish there was more variety. But it's only CAS and b&b and CAS and b&b. WHERE IS THE GAMEPLAY??????
    -probably just playing Phasmophobia :p
  • TS1299TS1299 Posts: 1,604 Member
    Neutral about Kits
    I just pretend they are TS4 version of TS3 Store :D
  • StormkeepStormkeep Posts: 7,632 Member
    edited January 2022
    Other (explain please)

    If they have so many people working on CAS and BB assets instead of gameplay, they've got their priorities wrong. Fact is, they're paying people to make these items, while they could be paying people to code and animate instead. So yeah, no matter how you look at it, CAS and BB kits are getting in the way of gameplay, because those are resources being spent.

    The implication of your thought process is that they should FIRE a portion of their art team any time the code side of things takes longer than anticipated instead of giving them other projects to work on. Or that they should have more of the coders on staff in the first place, in which case the delays would other times be waiting on art assets to be completed.

    Your simplistic view of how project management should work at Maxis might lead you to have the opinions which you do, but it's a good thing you don't actually work there.
    This post will be edited by StormKeep at some point.
    2c2ab3785fad83173d9a155efa4afd1fc99b9595.jpg
    The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
  • mustenimusteni Posts: 5,403 Member
    Neutral about Kits
    I'll be honest the kits could have been way more interesting than what they have been. Other than that I don't really mind the kits. I have patience to wait for bigger packs.
  • crocobauracrocobaura Posts: 7,342 Member
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    Maybe they are going back to one EP per year, but packed with gameplay, like they used to do.
  • haisinhaisin Posts: 948 Member
    edited January 2022
    Neutral about Kits
    I don't mind kits. Of course it's exciting to see new things and get new things and I'm waiting for new gameplay and I'm not that excited about new cas and bb content, but still, if there's a kit that I like I'll get it and if there isn't then I'll just continue playing my game. I still have a lot to play with the packs I already have, so I can wait.
  • BenjamilianBenjamilian Posts: 395 Member
    Love the Kits
    I love the kits, so long as they aren't instead of GPs or EPs -- and of course they aren't.

    I particularly like the fit kit fashions and the courtyard set.
  • wecantpickanamewecantpickaname Posts: 1,129 Member
    Love the Kits
    I like them. If anyone has played the Sims 3, the Sims 3 website store had loads of store content that you could use points to buy. It was pretty messy and overall, more expensive compared to the kits available for the Sims 4. This is why I like the kits better.
  • NetzspannungNetzspannung Posts: 2,456 Member
    Neutral about Kits
    I probably spend around 40% of my time in CAS and I quite like the items the kits added and use them frequently, so I can definitely say I like kits. I also had no issue with the TS3 store back when I still played the game, and I would say that kits have pretty much the same concept, obviously adapted for TS4. Regarding the lack of packs and the addition of new gameplay, I believe that the global pandemic has had a much stronger impact on that. I can't say for sure either way, but neither can anyone else and I can't really get excited/upset about mere speculation. In the meantime the team did add quite a few things that have been requested for years (likes/dislikes, nails, new swatches to BG BB items).
    If there was ever something in TS4 I got close to getting upset about it would be the My First Pet SP. Without C&D most of the items are useless/unusable and without the SP the kids bedroom set in C&D is basically incomplete. I still refuse to buy MFP for that reason. But that is my personal view on it and if I was interested in hamsters I would probably see it differently. Anyway, I view kits as just being optional bits of content, which you can take or leave depending on your personal taste.
    If I just posted an outfit you like, I have good news - there is more where that came from!
    https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/956513/netz-a-porter-outfits-ready-to-wear-for-your-sims-no-cc-required
    Twitter: NetzspannungTS

    we all try ...
  • keekee53keekee53 Posts: 4,328 Member
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    BlueR0se wrote: »
    Neutral. I don't get the ones I don't want and honestly I don't think not having them would increase GP/EP turnout. They'd jjst go back to pumping out stuff packs. I imagine they shifted some of the development team to work on Sims 5 and along with COVID that's why we've seen a reduction in production.

    I like that kits allow for niche things, particularly for CAS/BB items and you can just not get it if you don't like it. I'm mostly interested in the CAS ones myself.

    At least the stuff packs had gameplay items though.
  • keekee53keekee53 Posts: 4,328 Member
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    Atreya33 wrote: »
    I was neutral about them until the end of summer. But the last few months when kits replaced every other type of DLC was an overload. I am not against kits themselves but the balance between kits and other content is off.

    Yes I was pretty neutral too until we got bombarded with them. Then it was implied they would not replace or get in the way of development. Just a quick was to give us content. No November expansion, last game pack was in June 2021 and a year since we have seen a stuff pack. What are we supposed to think?
  • CNJ93CNJ93 Posts: 30 Member
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    If they were less expensive, I think they would be great. I usually buy dlc during sales and have so far not seen the kits on sale, but the stuff packs are the same price when they're on sale, so I don't think we get enough for the price.
  • SimDork23SimDork23 Posts: 524 Member
    edited January 2022
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    Yes, I’m tired of kits. I haven’t bought a single one because there hasn’t been anything that I’ve liked enough to buy for how little you actually get. I wish that they’d focus more on actual packs.
  • CeridwenCeridwen Posts: 228 Member
    Other (explain please)
    Initially I wasn't against kits and even now there are some aspects of the kits I like. Have no time for the fashion related ones, however, so in that instance, they're fulfilling their supposed niche market appeal. And I do enjoy the items out of the kits I've picked up, I can't lie. Which is why I can't truly say I'm tired of them. If I'm thinking the absolute best, I conclude that niche appeal is truly why they exist, and we're not mean necessarily to like and/or buy each individual kit.

    However! I can't shake the thought a lot of these ideas could've and probably should've been used to buff up prior packs. For example, Bust the Dust is a natural to be placed into Laundry Day. And as it's retrospective, it could've just been used as a spruce up, as is being done for some packs already (like Spa Day). The kitchen had a natural spot in Country Living - why limit to just one kitchen set in an expansion pack? All of the fashion elements? Additions to packs like City Living. If I'm thinking the absolute worst, it's a money grab; sneaksy EA trying to get Maxis to fleece more out of us.

    So in conclusion, the cat's out of the bag on what exists. No more should be made, especially when nothing produced already couldn't have zhuzhed up pre-existing content. So... maybe I am tired of them but I'm giving a little benefit of the doubt? Still fence-sitting a little, maybe. :)
  • Amapola76Amapola76 Posts: 1,904 Member
    Other (explain please)
    People can come up with whatever convoluted theories they want to say that it's correlation, not causation, but the bottom line is that in the last nine months, we've had a deluge of kits and a dearth of other content. So in the most literal sense, yes, kits have replaced other content.

    Do we have many kits? Yes. Do we have any new expansions, game packs, or stuff packs? No. Ipso facto, kits have replaced other packs.
  • simgirl1010simgirl1010 Posts: 35,707 Member
    Other (explain please)
    Well, whatever the reason, I've enjoyed each kit and am looking forward to the next two and the GP and hopefully the next EP by June. 🙂
  • Zeldaboy180Zeldaboy180 Posts: 5,997 Member
    Neutral about Kits
    Neutral. I wouldntmind them as much if we got other content too, and a healthy mix of gameplay kits too.

    But I prefer gameplay > build/buy > cas.

    I'd buy a sleepwear kit in a heartbeat though
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  • ncisGibbs02ncisGibbs02 Posts: 2,018 Member
    edited January 2022
    Sick and Tired of Kits
    Stormkeep wrote: »

    If they have so many people working on CAS and BB assets instead of gameplay, they've got their priorities wrong. Fact is, they're paying people to make these items, while they could be paying people to code and animate instead. So yeah, no matter how you look at it, CAS and BB kits are getting in the way of gameplay, because those are resources being spent.

    The implication of your thought process is that they should FIRE a portion of their art team any time the code side of things takes longer than anticipated instead of giving them other projects to work on. Or that they should have more of the coders on staff in the first place, in which case the delays would other times be waiting on art assets to be completed.

    Your simplistic view of how project management should work at Maxis might lead you to have the opinions which you do, but it's a good thing you don't actually work there.

    I thought as there was three types of kit, that means three sets of teams (however small). So one does BB, another CAS and finally Gameplay.
    I can’t see one team doing all kits as artists tend not to do animation coding, which gameplay would require.

    Something happened to those assigned to gameplay kits. There wouldn’t be just one.

    Perhaps the complaints about Busted Dust were enough to get this team either reassigned or removed? 🤷🏼‍♂️🤔.

    Now alternating between Sims 2,3 and 4! 😊☕️🌞
  • StormkeepStormkeep Posts: 7,632 Member
    Other (explain please)
    I thought as there was three types of kit, that means three sets of teams (however small). So one does BB, another CAS and finally Gameplay.
    I can’t see one team doing all kits as artists tend not to do animation coding, which gameplay would require.

    Something happened to those assigned to gameplay kits. There wouldn’t be just one.

    Perhaps the complaints about Busted Dust were enough to get this team either reassigned or removed? 🤷🏼‍♂️🤔.

    While Maxis hasn't been completely transparent in the exact structure of their internal teams, other studios that have shared a lot of details on the development process can give a bit of insight into some likely setups.

    I have followed the development process of quite a few games over the years, and one thing that those more forthcoming studios make clear is that "teams" and "individual people" are not the same thing. In other words, different people can be on more than one team. This is almost a necessity in game development, given how the specific needs of different projects ebb and flow.

    One thing I think that has happened with TS4 is that they don't have more than one EP being worked on at the same time anymore, and in the beginning they did have two different teams actively developing different EPs at the same time. This alone is a good explanation for why the delay between EP's has increased.
    This post will be edited by StormKeep at some point.
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    The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
  • LiELFLiELF Posts: 6,439 Member
    Neutral about Kits
    logion wrote: »
    keekee53 wrote: »
    keekee53 wrote: »
    The point I was making is that I feel development has slowed due to kits despite their claim to it not being the case. The Expansion they are working on is technically overdue based on the way they have been releasing content. We have not seen a stuff pack in a year.

    I guess we'll never know. Just speculation. :)

    considering we having had a stuff pack in a year and no November expansion...we might be a bit past speculation. The stuff pack situation speaks volume alone.

    The problem is that we are consumers, and the argument that kits don't interfere with development only works if we are aware of what their development looks like... But we aren't. So when they make 9 kits in less than a year and begin 2022 with two more it's difficult for us to see how their production schedule can change so much without their development for packs being affected.

    What are we as consumers seeing? 3 packs, base game updates and 11 kits in a year. That's almost 1 kit every month, and people need to work on these kits and put them together.

    The only people who work on the kits are the specific developers for those departments. That's why they're so small and microfocused. Since we get mostly CAS and then build/buy, it's those developers whose time is being used. We only got one gameplay kit so far, so that tells me that the gameplay devs, the coders and engineers are working on other things, which are usually the more time consuming of the game content.

    So we do know a little bit about the game's development. It was clarified by the developers last year when kits started to be a Thing. They explained straight up that when working on larger projects like packs and base game patches, they will sometimes have some departments or developers who finish early and have to wait on the other departments. They decided that Kits are the perfect "in-between" packs that add a little extra to fill in the work gap. This is why they don't interfere with pack production. They are created by developers who have already finished their work on whatever pack or patch was on the main agenda.

    Maxis has over 200 devs working on Sims 4. Each sector of development requires a certain skill set and job requirements just like any other workplace. Developers, contrary to popular belief, are not all interchangeable. Graphics Designers are different from Coders who are different from Writers who are different from game Engineers who are different from sound effects specialists, etc. (Just a disclaimer, I don't know what all of the actual positions are, I just know there's a lot of them.) You don't just learn "basic game development" and jump into any job making video games so for those who think you can just throw the extra devs at another department, it doesn't make sense. They can switch pack teams when they include a variety of content, but a modeler can't be tossed in with the coders and expected to be useful. I hope that makes sense?

    What we're seeing with Kits is either just how frequently the CAS and B/B departments end up waiting on the other devs, or that there's been an immense amount of focus switched to base gameplay updates so that those other departments have free time to create more kits. Personally, I think it's a little of both.
    #Team Occult
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