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Simmers, what do you expect from types of packs?
Bren91
Posts: 300 Member
I’m curious to know what sim players expect with packs when buying them. I think sometimes it gets a little confusing to some of us. So I just wanted to know in general.
I would like to know what you expect from or what makes a pack in these types, what are the things that differentiate them?
Kit -
Stuff Pack -
Game Pack -
Expansion Pack -
I would like to know what you expect from or what makes a pack in these types, what are the things that differentiate them?
Kit -
Stuff Pack -
Game Pack -
Expansion Pack -
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Comments
Take the upcoming horse expansion. Many people say the content would have fit in a game pack, and perhaps that's true, but horses are complicated and I'm sure require a substantial budget to do correctly. On top of that, they really do need a large world to get the most benefit from their added game play, so they ended up in an expansion.
Exactly this. Imo it's all about what is being introduced. Horses is practically creating a whole new lifestate since they are not tied to a barn. They have skills and lots of other stuff like a member of the family. They are complex. They took tons of animating. We can do tricks and esquterian things with them. Kids can ride them.
They will assumingly have big lots and possibly a decent sized world. Not including all the other animals we get not quite to a barn so we can have many of them, the other new additions in the pack and the minor things like possibly trails, new farm helpers, and other little things that bring out the game that we still have yet to see in the livestream.
I mean this sounds like an expansion pack to me.
I won't get into detail of what I think each pack should have based on my personal expectations because generally I just have fun without thinking that hard. This my hobby and I enjoy what they give us. If I really thought something wasn't worth it I just don't buy it or get it on sale.
Overall I think the jobs of game developers is really underappreciated.
Kit - A small handful of cas or bb (not both) leftovers from other packs
SP - Some cas and bb, a small amount of new interactions and gameplay, maybe a related aspiration and/or career (e.g., Paranormal Investigator) or a fairly simple new system/feature (e.g. butlers, tiny homes)
GP - More cas and bb than an SP, more new interactions and gameplay, maybe a couple of aspirations and/or careers, a new trait or two, a substantial new system of some kind (e.g., character traits) that may or may not be pack-specific , maybe a new world and/or new lot type
EP - Max amount of cas and bb, substantially more new interactions and gameplay, more than a couple of new aspirations/careers, a few new traits, a couple of substantial new systems that have cross-pack potential (e.g., fame), maybe a new lot type, definitely a new world (except for Seasons)
So far, Horse Ranch feels like a GP to me. Similar to the occult GPs, horses are a completely new sim type with traits and skills and their own horsey events and such, so maybe all the horse-specific stuff is taking the place of a new system that would apply across packs, which I'd expect to see in an EP. But, this pack is more limited than the occult GPs because at least human sim occults can also do/be whatever non-occult human sims can do, so they have more cross-pack potential. I think that's the thing I don't like about it being an EP. If you decide not to include a horse in your household, it seems like there's very little else from the pack you can integrate into your gameplay besides the cas and bb (and nectar-making, which seems very similar to juice fizzing to me). It's a walled garden, like what I imagine Batuu to be.
Well, maybe the livestream will reveal more that I'm not aware of yet...
Game pack - An experience of specific gameplay with things that are made to a target audience. Technically a fanservice pack.
Stuff pack - A great collection of clothes AND objects, with new animations, and luckily a skill with new animations and interactions.
Kits - A much smaller collection of clothes OR objects that are complements to expansions and game packs. Basically a half-stuff pack without any chance of new animations and interactions.
(Ex: Get Together/Cats & Dogs/ Cottage Living/Horse Ranch)
Game Packs with fun themes & maybe go with other packs.
(Ex: Vampire/Realm of Magic/Werewolves)
Stuff Packs with cool objects, outfits & hairstyles & some that go with other packs.
(Ex: Movie Hangout/Romantic Gardens/Paranormal)
Kits that go with any of the packs.
(Ex: Courtyard Oasis/Desert Luxe/ Little Campers/Fashion Street)
Stuff Pack - CAS and BB items and gameplay items which offer new gameplay.
Game Pack - CAS, BB items, gameplay items and the pack offers new gameplay.
Expansion Pack - CAS, BB tiems, gameplay items and the pack offers a lot of new gameplay, the pack often comes with a world.
I'm not sure if the new horses expansion pack could have been a game pack, it's difficult to tell from just looking at the trailers, it depends how well the pack plays...
I don't think customers should feel the effect of what budget they had so if horses were difficult to make, the publisher should instead raise their budget so that their customers get what they expect and that they are happy with the pack. You should not get customers to discuss if the pack is an expansion pack or not, game development is difficult and some things are going to be more difficult to make than others so some packs are simply going to cost more and the customer should not feel the effect of that.
unique cas , b/b or gameplay items
I have been sort of bleh about kits because so many of them just feel like content we could have in literally any sims 4 pack ever
if its gonna be kit I think they should at least take advantage of the fact it is just a kit and do something different to what we have in the bigger packs
something that makes you think " wow if this kit did not exist i don't honestly think they would have made these items but they're so cool"
also i think the way gameplay kits have gone extinct is a shame because it would have been perfect to add some fun little gameplay items we are missing
Stuff Pack
for the content to match the title like if im buying cool kitchen stuff i want to see cool kitchen stuff in that pack not some random unrelated croptops
also I think lots of the gameplay items are so disappointing cause for example if i buy pack for a popcorn machine can't I at least have few different options as to how the popcorn machine looks like? just saying. the vibes be missing.
+ for lots of them I just feel like they slap together bunch of random items
I expect to see a theme like with nifty knitting or paranormal its clear that the items go together its a whole pack not just items slapped together
Game Pack
(i misspelled it as dame pack and now i got stuck wondering what would come in dame pack)
oh dear. well I would like to see gameplay
does gamepack need a world? no unless gameplay literally requires one.
does gameplay need cas? no unless it somehow enhances the gameplay
does gamepack need build buy? again no unless it is needed for gameplay and makes the gameplay better.
do i love to have some b/b and cas and maybe world? sure but not at expense of gameplay, the gameplay is most important and if it is lacking I am disappointed regardless of what you add on the side
Expansion Pack
should still be mainly about gameplay and once the gameplay is as good as it can be then i can expect to have some kind of lovely world,cas and bb stuff, as a treat.
unfortunately they just seem to forget the gameplay part sometimes missing most obviously needed things and it disappoints me
also it disappoints me if world is say this whole western saloons vibe and theres no dang saloon door the build items should be in line with what you can see in the world so you can build things that match that dang world
and most of all I expect all of these packs to not be buggy laggy glitch messes and be able to actually play them
this has been simmingal rant show thanks for tuning in and I should probably be snoozing or eating snickers or both simultaneously
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And yes, kits have roughly 24 items each (allowing for the cabinet proviso above). I've counted. The only exception is Bust the Dust, and I'll give that one a pass as it adds a whole gameplay system that I do not want in my games.
Stuff Packs: A decent spread of CAS and BB items, maybe some traits or aspirations, a few minor gameplay additions and one major gameplay addition, usually tied to an object of some type. All based around a central concept and related style.
Game packs: A central gameplay concept that may not appeal to all players and systems supporting that concept, CAS and BB supporting that concept, and maybe (hopefully) a small world with 5+ lots that is also tied to that concept. Some new gameplay may be limited to that world, while some regular world Gameplay may be limited in that world.
Expansion Packs: A major gameplay expansion which may or may not expand to all worlds, and several moderate and minor gameplay additions which are applicable - or at least usable - in all worlds. A new world of at least 12 to 15 lots - though depending on the concept, this isn't strictly required (Seasons gets a pass). CAS and BB supporting building locations and creating sims for that new world. Also a coordinating Base Game Update which may include adding features required to use the pack in all worlds.
Now, do I like it when gameplay is limited to a given world? No. But in some cases, I can understand why (Mountain events limited to Mt Komorebi, for example)
Anyway, here's what I believe should expect from each pack.
Expansion Packs: Offer major elements of gameplay, a wide variety of gameplay and maybe new worlds. Because it's the most expensive, it should offer the most gameplay, and its gameplay should have a lot of use. So a lot of its content should be able to carry on outside of its new world or small niche. There should be small elements of gameplay that aren't related to the main theme, but provide some nice bonus contnent.
IE, farming and seasons can be experienced in any world, sims can still do university stuff while living at home. You get exceptions like Island Living, because mermaids are pretty much useless outside of Sulani and what little gameplay the pack provides is locked to this one world.
Growing Together is a great pack because it offers content that impacts your daily gameplay (Compatibility), but has a lot of small stuff to enhance gameplay (puzzles, friendship bracelets, milestones.) It has content exclusive to San Sequoia, but it also has a lot of content that can be played anywhere and fit in with many different playstyles.
Game Packs: Focused on one or two themes instead of a wide variety, but the gameplay it focuses on should be deep. The content doesn't necessarily need to branch out into other worlds, since you're getting more specified content. You're getting less content than you would in an EP, but the content you're getting is well-developed.
Stuff Packs: Past SPs used to just be BB/CAS, and one item with a few basic interactions. But later SPs evolved into being a decent amount of CAS/BB, with one element of gameplay to focus on and develop. Like GPs, content doesn't need to have a wide reach or affect many types of gameplay styles. Sometimes we just need niche things, like kitting.
Kits: Provides some neat stuff to play with, with a very specific theme. The content isn't deep and there isn't always enough of it, but you're getting content that you really like. There should be a wide variety of themes and kit types, so more parts of the diverse and unique fandom can get content they might otherwise have gotten.
Island Living is a bad Expansion Pack, because it doesn't offer a lot of gameplay, and the gameplay we got (like mermaids) is stuck to one location. However, those limitations would be perfectly fine for a Game Pack. And this is coming from someone who loves Sulani and plays with Island Living all the time.
And here's what I expect:
Expansion Packs: Some gameplay that may or may not be deep, and may or may not work on release. A lot of BB/CAS and a small world that's mostly set dressing, to justify it being an EP. Expect reused content. Sometimes you get ____ Living packs that are geared towards one world, and those are usually the worst EPs for me.
Game Packs: The best pack type, since they tend to focus more on gameplay than anything else... Unless they're built upon pre-existing systems (like My Wedding Stories, Dream Home Decorator, or chatting with sims and collecting with StrangerVille), then they might be weak. I expect them to be more fun than EPs, since the gameplay is more developed. I expect them to be more polished upon release than EPs.
Stuff Packs: Nothing, because they're dead and gone forever. They finally became good and now they're gone.
Kits: Tbh, while there are some I love, I just see them and expect pointless cash grabs. They're less than the third of a SP's content, for half the price. We only get BB and CAS kits, and we can only hope for a gameplay kit every couple of years so they can pretend that gameplay kits aren't dead. They're neat, but they don't bring much excitement. I don't feel any excitement when I see them on a roadmap because they're so bite-sized. And they're constantly spammed, so I see them a lot - the point where it's annoying. I know I'm ranting and going off-topic, but if I have to see a new kit every other Tuesday, kits will bear witness to me complaining about them. And they still haven't paid for murdering Stuff Packs.
The Sims 4 hasn't introduced a new musical instrument since 2017