Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
I think that this is a great idea. I mean, it's not like the pre-made worlds in TS2 didn't already have built-in stories that the player could jump right into. Besides, if they could implement a feature where players could create their own scenarios and share them on the gallery so others can play through them too, that could really enhance the gameplay on a whole other level. Even if it just spawn a subset of packs that add mini "Sims Stories" adventures to the game, though, it could still be a lot of fun if you have sims you think would be up for it...Really, kind of like exploring the ruins in "Jungle Adventure", just with more substance...
Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
I was between choosing 1 or 2 on the poll. I think it's great that they are doing things different from past series, and as for 2, I don't think it should be just once and done. Depending on their concepts and choices for future packs, it might be quite fun to have different side-games to explore within the actual game itself.
WA was by far my favorite expansion from Sims 3. I loved the puzzle-solving in the tombs. I still have never finished it and one day I hope to stay with the game long enough to do so.
Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
I am intrigued by the concept but for me it is an puzzling sign as this changes the direction the the series is going and has been going since Sims 4 came to life. Some players see this pack not as an well thought plan as the mystery itself is not replayable and are looking beyond it as far as it's worth when the mystery is solved. Yes, it adds to the sandbox but what does it add to the whole game in general and I am looking at CL which some features was limited to one area which was never done before in the older versions other than the standalones that was seperated from the main game. The pack becomes an paid neighborhood and for me the value decreases with the use once and no to very replayabilty bad enough when was the last time EA/Maxis gave us an free neighborhood after 2015 which is like 4 yrs ago and space is so limited.I am getting the pack but not at no $19.99 that is for sure and even though it has an neighborhood it is still not worth $19.99 to me. I do not care how others feel about the issue, when it comes to me spending money that is an personal issue.
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But even so, I'm more looking forward to the active military career and b/b mode items than the story.
I hope that the military career is active (for you TS4 players' sake) and not just some afterthought tacked on so that you have to play the story-line just to have access to the military option.
I am intrigued by the concept but for me it is an puzzling sign as this changes the direction the the series is going and has been going since Sims 4 came to life. Some players see this pack not as an well thought plan as the mystery itself is not replayable and are looking beyond it as far as it's worth when the mystery is solved. Yes, it adds to the sandbox but what does it add to the whole game in general and I am looking at CL which some features was limited to one area which was never done before in the older versions other than the standalones that was seperated from the main game. The pack becomes an paid neighborhood and for me the value decreases with the use once and no to very replayabilty bad enough when was the last time EA/Maxis gave us an free neighborhood after 2015 which is like 4 yrs ago and space is so limited.I am getting the pack but not at no $19.99 that is for sure and even though it has an neighborhood it is still not worth $19.99 to me. I do not care how others feel about the issue, when it comes to me spending money that is an personal issue.
What does it add to the sandbox other than a few items which seems to be all it takes to make people happy nowadays. Yes, the value most assuredly decreases after a single play-through. You still don't know what avenues as far as that military career is concerned is accessible through sandbox play vs. having to play the story-line, so essentially instead of sandbox, you're locked into someone else's vision.
As far as how YOU spend your money, I really couldn't care less. But as far as I'm concerned (and that's me personally, not extending my judgement on other people), it's a no-buy for me as was the entire Sims 4 series.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
I'm kind of in between. I am more of a sandbox player in simulators, but I think as a side story it's fine. I'm buying it not for the gameplay but for the build/buy and cas objects, so there's still something of interest to me. But if someone really likes the idea why not continue IN ADDITION to non-linear storied packs? I would certainly not want them to replace our more sandbox packs we've gotten. And if someone just hates the idea, they don't have to buy it.
It's kind of sad that I have to point out that anything I say is only just my opinion and may be a different one from someone else.
I will decide what my thoughts are on it once it is released and I play it for myself.
My first thought when I saw that it had a storyline was... goaled events. I really really hope it's not just 'Sit and talk to x', 'Mop up', 'Interview x' just sequential goals, I'm not here for that - boring!
I actually love the idea of the pack, the only reason I picked "other" is because buying this pack depends on if we can live and build in this world. If it is a destination town I'll likely pass on the pack. I told myself no more buying packs that only have destination worlds in them because I find that I never use the destination worlds.
If the world is a normal livable world though I'll totally be getting it.
Saying "not to be rude", then blatently being rude does not excuse rude behavior.
I actually love the idea of the pack, the only reason I picked "other" is because buying this pack depends on if we can live and build in this world. If it is a destination town I'll likely pass on the pack. I told myself no more buying packs that only have destination worlds in them because I find that I never use the destination worlds.
If the world is a normal livable world though I'll totally be getting it.
I actually love the idea of the pack, the only reason I picked "other" is because buying this pack depends on if we can live and build in this world. If it is a destination town I'll likely pass on the pack. I told myself no more buying packs that only have destination worlds in them because I find that I never use the destination worlds.
If the world is a normal livable world though I'll totally be getting it.
It's a liveable world.
WooooHoooo!
Then I'll be gettin it yay!
TY for the info.
Saying "not to be rude", then blatently being rude does not excuse rude behavior.
@JoAnne65 The great thing about it was that nothing was needed. I bought the CD with the two stories to complete, and when you were done you could start building or play as you wanted in the world. It made me want to try out the sims "for real". TS3 had just been released, but I went ahead and bought a TS2 original CD + Nightlife a as many stuff packs as I could lay my hands on! After a while I was intrigued by the open world in TS3 and moved on to it...
If I'm not mistaken though, you have to play the story first in order to be able to turn it off - which doesn't seem like such an optional option to me after all?
That kind of reminds me of how The Sims Medieval works it. You solve the over-arching kingdom goal (whichever Ambition you play) to unlock the sandbox mode for that Kingdom. I don't hate the idea - but I would prefer it be a feature of a single expansion, where that's the point of the EP, rather than a new general trend. Otherwise, yes - make it wholly optional.
It’s okay, I guess? Not really my thing, as I play Sims more for the freedom than a preset story. I have plenty of video games that have preset stories.
I really hope future packs aren’t all going to be Story Mode packs. I may have to stop buying packs, then, depending on how they do the story stuff...
I don’t want to lose more of that Sims freedom. (I never played Sims 2 preset characters or their backstories. I play Sims for my own creations.)
Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
I'm loving the idea, the roll out and the excitement of it. I'm sure I will enjoy the story and play through it multiple times. How many times have I run through the outdoor enthusiast aspiration? It's a lot of times. How many times have I done a number of other ones.. at my pace and in my way? I am willing to bet I will be able to use many aspects of this pack and the settings to tell my own stories... not just some linear story only.
I love the idea of putting a backstory of sorts in also. One we can play out. I think I'll make many memories for my simming days with this pack.
Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
First, thanks all for your contributions, I really enjoy reading all your visions and it’s funny that regardless the choice, I see everyone’s point, how everybody has one for me (that’s rather exceptional and it proves my own opinion about this is clearly very ambivalent).
I fell asleep before posting last night. Apparently this is now in the Sims 4 section? Glad I just refresh the page and didn't go looking for it, lol.
I went and found that tweet from Grant and who he's responding to mentions how they like it because it reminds the of Stories. Like I said elsewhere, I wouldn't call this idea new and fresh since it reminds me of a combination of previous games and things in the franchise but I do like the idea. It's actually right up my alley, I love creepy and mysterious but I'd like this much better if it was a side game like The Sims Life Stories, Pet Stories, Castaway, MySims or even just a spin off or Sims game on console. The fact that it's part of the main series on computer troubles me.
I love The Sims for the sandbox element and my main worry was that this is them testing the waters for more story driven packs when the reason I play this series is to be able to tell my own stories. I think The Sims should be the sandbox game where they give us the tools to tell our own stories and if they want to have story based games those should be seperate.
And don't you have to play the story a bit in order to opt out completely? I know one guru said you can largely ignore it but that's not completely being able to ignore it so he mentioned having to play through the story to get completely out of it. What if you just want the sandbox aspect with no story at all?
While I love World Adventures for the ability to have my sims vacation in a foreign worlds and get away from everyday life, before I used mods I always wished there was a way to increase visa levels without doing the adventures for some of my sims. One of the things that made it better for me was the number of different storylines/adventures to play through to arrive at a maxed visa level but I still wished for a more sandbox approach. This new pack so far seems like just one story so I wonder how that will turn out.
I agree. They should have added a cheat for people to enable that, like they added a cheat to unlock the IP islands. Afaic the game should always keep the player who wants the game to be fully sandbox in mind. It is Sims after all.
My poll isn’t meant as a judgement for this expansion, it’s meant to inventory what people think of the concept in general, regardless the quality of this particular pack. Whether they’ll be able to pull it off is a different matter. Also interesting but not the purpose of my poll.
I think that this is a great idea. I mean, it's not like the pre-made worlds in TS2 didn't already have built-in stories that the player could jump right into. Besides, if they could implement a feature where players could create their own scenarios and share them on the gallery so others can play through them too, that could really enhance the gameplay on a whole other level. Even if it just spawn a subset of packs that add mini "Sims Stories" adventures to the game, though, it could still be a lot of fun if you have sims you think would be up for it...Really, kind of like exploring the ruins in "Jungle Adventure", just with more substance...
I think there’s a significant difference between background stories a player can jump into, and a set-in-stone story you’ll need to play with always the same outcome. Not comparable.
@JoAnne65I think this poll being moved to the TS4 area will give new insights. We're on the same page, though.
@elanorbreton had the best say. We'll only know what it's going to be like once it's released.
I'm looking forward to the videos.
I agree, though I’m glad it started in a section with players who don’t come here. Because the results reveal people who enjoy playing Sims 4 seem to be more willing to fully embrace linear gameplay than the ‘old school’ players.
Results of the poll in the TS3 section:
Results at this moment, after being moved to TS4 General:
Bad! They’d better spend their time and money on gameplay that sticks to what this franchise is about
This type of gameplay should be separated like they've done in the past. The main Sims games are about open ended sandbox, life simulators. I don't want hand holding linear gameplay added into the game. I think one GP with this is more than enough. Stop trying to change what the Sims are.
Great idea! The franchise should explore this kind of gameplay more
Story progression, legacies, challenges etc are all story modes - what is the difference. Story mode is a story mode. You can do them or not do them at all - why all the fuss whenever the dev add in some. It is still pretty optional and so it should be.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Story progression, legacies, challenges etc are all story modes - what is the difference. Story mode is a story mode. You can do them or not do them at all - why all the fuss whenever the dev add in some. It is still pretty optional and so it should be.
Challenges indeed are based on a mandatory storyline as well, which is why I’d never ever do a challenge myself. Challenges are player created though, not in game, so it’s certainly not the same. We are looking at a built in story now for the very first time in the franchise, it’s new alright. Some players love that, others do not. The way I understand it the story here is not optional, once you buy this pack?
As for story progression, only Sims 3 has that option and you can disable it. And it’s no secret many many players don’t want story progression in their game. And they took it out when they created Sims 4, probably because of that. Story progression doesn’t add an actual story by the way. I remember my own confusion when I was a Sims 3 newbie and saw the “story progression” option. Expecting indeed a story would reveal itself and all that happened were babies that were born in town. I remember that not exactly considering a ‘story’.
ETA: Challenges are way more free than the upcoming story pack by the way, because within the frame of basic rules you can do whatever you want.
Interesting, but it should always be an on the side thing and just this once
It doesn't have to be this once, it's interesting to see something different. However, in sims I mainly like freedom and not scripted story. That's why I don't play premades.
I don't personally like the idea of one story per pack. Like i want something that i can play over and over again. This type of pack is not like i could just keep going on that story. Same problem whit jungle adventure. I also know a lot of people like these types of thing so it's also good that we have variety of different things. I don't think i'm gonna play that story but still i like that world and i'm exited about what items and what other things that pack adds then just that story.
Comments
I suppose it seems like fun, but I'm concerned that there won't be much for the pack AFTER the storyline.
@elanorbreton had the best say. We'll only know what it's going to be like once it's released.
I'm looking forward to the videos.
WA was by far my favorite expansion from Sims 3. I loved the puzzle-solving in the tombs. I still have never finished it and one day I hope to stay with the game long enough to do so.
I hope that the military career is active (for you TS4 players' sake) and not just some afterthought tacked on so that you have to play the story-line just to have access to the military option.
What does it add to the sandbox other than a few items which seems to be all it takes to make people happy nowadays. Yes, the value most assuredly decreases after a single play-through. You still don't know what avenues as far as that military career is concerned is accessible through sandbox play vs. having to play the story-line, so essentially instead of sandbox, you're locked into someone else's vision.
As far as how YOU spend your money, I really couldn't care less. But as far as I'm concerned (and that's me personally, not extending my judgement on other people), it's a no-buy for me as was the entire Sims 4 series.
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
My first thought when I saw that it had a storyline was... goaled events. I really really hope it's not just 'Sit and talk to x', 'Mop up', 'Interview x' just sequential goals, I'm not here for that - boring!
If the world is a normal livable world though I'll totally be getting it.
Saying "not to be rude", then blatently being rude does not excuse rude behavior.
It's a liveable world.
WooooHoooo!
Then I'll be gettin it yay!
TY for the info.
Saying "not to be rude", then blatently being rude does not excuse rude behavior.
That kind of reminds me of how The Sims Medieval works it. You solve the over-arching kingdom goal (whichever Ambition you play) to unlock the sandbox mode for that Kingdom. I don't hate the idea - but I would prefer it be a feature of a single expansion, where that's the point of the EP, rather than a new general trend. Otherwise, yes - make it wholly optional.
I really hope future packs aren’t all going to be Story Mode packs. I may have to stop buying packs, then, depending on how they do the story stuff...
I don’t want to lose more of that Sims freedom. (I never played Sims 2 preset characters or their backstories. I play Sims for my own creations.)
(She/her)
I love the idea of putting a backstory of sorts in also. One we can play out. I think I'll make many memories for my simming days with this pack.
I agree. They should have added a cheat for people to enable that, like they added a cheat to unlock the IP islands. Afaic the game should always keep the player who wants the game to be fully sandbox in mind. It is Sims after all.
My poll isn’t meant as a judgement for this expansion, it’s meant to inventory what people think of the concept in general, regardless the quality of this particular pack. Whether they’ll be able to pull it off is a different matter. Also interesting but not the purpose of my poll.
I think there’s a significant difference between background stories a player can jump into, and a set-in-stone story you’ll need to play with always the same outcome. Not comparable.
I agree, though I’m glad it started in a section with players who don’t come here. Because the results reveal people who enjoy playing Sims 4 seem to be more willing to fully embrace linear gameplay than the ‘old school’ players.
Results of the poll in the TS3 section:
Results at this moment, after being moved to TS4 General:
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
As for story progression, only Sims 3 has that option and you can disable it. And it’s no secret many many players don’t want story progression in their game. And they took it out when they created Sims 4, probably because of that. Story progression doesn’t add an actual story by the way. I remember my own confusion when I was a Sims 3 newbie and saw the “story progression” option. Expecting indeed a story would reveal itself and all that happened were babies that were born in town. I remember that not exactly considering a ‘story’.
ETA: Challenges are way more free than the upcoming story pack by the way, because within the frame of basic rules you can do whatever you want.