kremesch73 , some of what you write match my feelings toward the game - though I enjoy it a lot more now. Personally I don't want TS4 to be TS2.1, but TS4 has to do well what it claims to be its core features - multitasking and the emotional states. I like the emotional states but I've had to use mods so the states aren't wonky and unrealistic. I like multi tasking but if toddlers were sacrificed for multi tasking, I'd have to ask if it's worth it - on the one hand the baby phase or toddler phase are short and provide the least gameplay compared to the other life stages BUT you can tell great stories with them, on the other hand I've seen some sweet tender moments between my Sims , because of multi tasking, and seen them also do some inane ridiculous things - again because of multi tasking. I miss terrain tools and the foundation restrictions are prohibitive ( we need an URGENT build mode update) but I truly cannot say the devs are lazy or uninspired- I respect them and the work they do, but it's clear that they haven't convinced many simmers that the narrative tools we've become accustomed to and enjoyed in the series are no longer needed.
I'm not particularly looking for a Sims 2.1. There are things I feel can certainly be changed and/or left out. I like the idea of 'new.'
I just don't want it at the price of crippled freedom and creativity. The aspects I enjoyed most in the past were the abilities to play God in a sense that I had full rein not just over my sims, but over my environment too.
Another thing I'm not fond of is over-sized objects. But that's me. As much as I wish this game would live up to my standards, it clearly does not, and that is unlikely to change.
I don't expect a full-blown game from the get-go. But I do expect to have a full meal before waiting for the desserts to follow.
Dissatisfied with Sims 4 and hoping for a better Sims 5
Lets be real..the gurus could say the next EP features cotton balls and q-tips and they would be excited. Look how underwhelming GTW was, and GT wasn't exactly mind blowing. We'll just have to wait months for them to showcase the next EP we didn't ask for.
Is that why Get To Work managed to chart higher on the PC than most Sims 3 EPs? Because no one wanted it?
And actually, since the Urbz and Freetime, people have been requesting for years to allow us to have groups that are controlled by likes and dislikes etc.
Book Clubs, Cooking Clubs etc. have been requested for years. Get Together allows for that and more.
Gets your facts straight hun. You don't speak for anyone else but the sales chart speaks for everyone x.
Got a link to back up those facts? I'd honestly be interested to see figures that say GTW charted higher than any TS3 EP.
I wouldn't ever guess people bought it because no one wanted it. My guess would be that they bought it trying to help the base game. Little did they know that GTW was going to need help too.
The only expansion to top that was University Life, from memory (I don't remember another pack charting at 4 or above). However, we all know YA focused packs are what EA considers to be huge sellers.
I imagine University for The Sims 4 will do well too. People like being on-site with Jobs and Schools.
If only that was part of the base game -sigh-
How about you post relevant data? I don't know how you can intelligently make a comparison when you only have one chart? Literally one from 2016 that gives you jack squat in regards to the packs you're trying to downplay.
GTW is #4 for the entire year? What are the parameters? Where is GT? Are we to believe that GT didn't chart in it's fiscal quarter? How about it's fiscal year?? Does this chart not cover that much data? (As in, this chart is not even complete?) Can you answer any of these questions, or do you only have the "answers" when it involves dragging a former Maxis product down??
Anywho - until you post more information you have absolutely no credibility to talk about any of this. You don't work for Maxis/EA, you clearly don't know how to effectively compare different products, and you are a compulsive distributor of false info; but you defend TS4 to the extreme so the mods clearly let your behavior slide.
From my perspective, they clearly do take forum feedback into account: they added pools and basements, for example. I can think of many examples of content that was requested here making it into the game.
Drake didn't say 'we don't listen to the forums'. I think what she meant may have been that they take the forums into account, but also have to look at information from other sources: youtube videos and comments; twitter; reddit; reviews; and telemetry. Like it or not, the forums only represent a section of the player base. They are trying to get a wider idea of what people want from the game. That doesn't mean they don't listen here. The forums are a great place to explain ]what we want and why it is important, or discuss certain ideas.
I would say that it would be great if all players would come here and explain their thoughts. However, the forums can be a bit of an aggressive environment sometimes and I've heard players saying they don't express their views for fear of being attacked for it.
edit: spelling
But that's the thing. You only need to go to those platforms and look at a few comments to see what most people are requesting at the moment. Pets, Seasons, Generations (toddlers), University are at the top. No one is saying "oh boy, I sure do hope the next EP will be a completely different theme with things that we never had before and never asked for." Like I said, it's fine to give us new things, but sometimes it comes to a point when we need a classic thrown in too. And people are starting to get impatient waiting for those classics. I've noticed that certain posts with announcements on facebook are getting more and more "angry" likes. When they revealed the quarter teaser, it had around 500. And with time it will only get worse. Not to mention all the negativity going around on the comments which are conveniently buried when the team answers only to the handful of positive comments.
But just because they don't reply that doesn't mean they're not listening. If that was the case, we wouldn't have got a Kids' Stuff Pack. They clearly did that because people have been very outspoken about wanting more content for families.
Also, people are asking for three of the most time consuming and tricky things to make. They can't just click their fingers and create toddler, pets and weather overnight. They will take time to develop. Although, I would concede that I thought we would have toddlers by now.
University is one of my most wanted expansions right now, it's nice to hear other people want that too. I think it would give the young adult age more definition. Open schools would be great too, for adding more gameplay for kids and teens.
I don't see them listening to be quite honest. We don't know why they decided to give us a kids stuff pack, it could be that they are starting to run out of themes for the stuff packs. We've been asking for family content and more stuff for kids since day 1 and they only decided to give us a pack for kids now, almost two years later. They are certainly not in a hurry to appease the fans. We've been asking for toddlers ever since we heard they weren't going to be in the game, and so far, no news that they are even working on them. Not to mention a Generations EP which isn't exactly as complex as Seasons or Pets.
For the first two EPs, I gave them the benefit of the doubt because they were working on GTW even before the base game launched and I believe GT was more of an experiment, as well as a combination of some leftovers with other new things thrown in. But what will be their excuse for EP03 if it ends up to be yet another new theme with all new things again? EP03's development surely started way after the base game launched, so if they were indeed listening to us, it would contain one of the most asked themes. From @SimGuruDrake comments, I am led to believe this will not be the case. Hopefully I will be proven wrong.
I can understand your point of view. Things do take time to develop though, even Stuff Packs need a bit of time now they have the gameplay that needs coding with new animations. So there's going to be a delay between what we ask for and when we get it. I do hope those toddlers are on their way soon though! It does feel like a long wait.
From my perspective, they clearly do take forum feedback into account: they added pools and basements, for example. I can think of many examples of content that was requested here making it into the game.
Drake didn't say 'we don't listen to the forums'. I think what she meant may have been that they take the forums into account, but also have to look at information from other sources: youtube videos and comments; twitter; reddit; reviews; and telemetry. Like it or not, the forums only represent a section of the player base. They are trying to get a wider idea of what people want from the game. That doesn't mean they don't listen here. The forums are a great place to explain ]what we want and why it is important, or discuss certain ideas.
I would say that it would be great if all players would come here and explain their thoughts. However, the forums can be a bit of an aggressive environment sometimes and I've heard players saying they don't express their views for fear of being attacked for it.
edit: spelling
People wanted new "normal" careers -- we got Business and Athletic careers.
People wanted ghosts and family trees -- we got them (granted, they could use tweaking and that could come)
And we got those, plus pools and basements, in free content downloads. When pools were not in base game, I fully expected them to be paid content when they were finally added. But we got them for free. They could have held off on adding business and athletic careers until an appropriate GP or EP, but those were patched in too. Even the Star Wars costumes that people complain about (and it's been a while since I've seen a townie randomly show up in one of those in town so they've managed to tweak those) were free content. For everyone who complains about the Star Wars content, there are probably plenty of players who happily use those in their games for odd reasons (especially since GT -- if we can have a club of knights, why not have a club of Star Wars LARPers?).
Way back on Page 1, a player saw that someone was happy about an EP, and that player has taken it as a hopeful sign for her. (I'm assuming her from the handle.) And now we've had 18 (as I write this) pages of people raining on that parade and questioning someone's integrity. We're getting an EP -- it may be your cup of tea or it may not, or it may be something that you're not interested in now but maybe a bit down the road you'll see how useful it could be.
Oh yes! I forgot about the careers! I was one of the people who were upset about there being too many OTT careers and not enough basic careers, and those two were on my list. I was really happy to get those!
My son loves that Darth Vader costume! And while it's not something I wanted for my game, it's pretty funny to see Darth sitting on the toilet with a drink in both hands.
It would be nice if people could be happy for others. Maybe they didn't want a certain feature but they could be happy for those who did. I feel like a forum pariah because I'm not that interested in Pets but I really want Apartment Life, Freetime, Superstar and University. I'm a loudmouth, but sometimes I feel intimidated by the people chanting PETS! GEN!! SEASONS!!! I'd be happy if we got those because other people clearly want them so much. It's not that I don't want those too, but there must be people who get their voice drowned out by the crowd here. I know a ton of people feel abandoned because they normally play with Supernaturals, but that isn't part of the chant. Maybe that's another reason why the gurus look around to see what people are saying in other places.
If it's not seasons, generations, pets or supernatural people will be disappointed, they know we don't want new things and would rather have the other packs first.
I'm not making any comment about your speculation on what it could or couldn't be but your delivery made me want to comment on this because I personally think this really is a sad way to view things.
Why don't you want new experiences? In the grand schemes of things you must realize that there are others who do want new experiences with a bit of the old thrown in. Why don't you want to the team to push themselves creatively to try new things? This is honestly something I struggle with understanding when I see comments like that on the forums and would really love to understand this kind of mind set.
The real question is why can't your team give people what their asking for instead of having selective hearing. Sure, new experiences are great but ignoring the huge elephant in the room isn't going to fix the game either.
And whose voices should we only be listening to? The forums? Twitter? Reddit? YouTube? Facebook? Tumblr? Snapchat? Surveys? Fan Sites? When anyone says "give people what their asking for" it almost always is just about what is being asked about here in the forums and no where else. We have to look at the bigger picture, not silos. We have to see what the common denominator is among all of the voices to see if we can't pin-point what is the most important piece of the puzzle for that particular piece of content.
This is what scares a lot of people to death in regard to this game- myself included to some extent although I've mostly given up hope of getting what was stripped from the game that I enjoyed and just accepted the fact that while I like Sims 4 I'll most likely never love it as much as 2 and 3. However, back to the main point.
I fully understand corporate mass market reasoning that seeks to appease the broad swath of consumers to maximize profits but what if you are that player in the "silo"? What if you're in the forty percent instead of the sixty percent? What if you are a niche player? Of which I'm sure there are several types within the Sims franchise. The fact of the matter is and this is most likely especially true of a long term game franchise like The Sims, there is rarely one common denominator for all of the voices. Instead there are various percentages of various denominators scattered across the client base for this game. I think people instinctively know this and I think people are really worried their style of play is falling or will fall into one of those three groups and then they'll be overshadowed and largely ignored or (and this may be even worse) receive a watered down version of what they've been asking for.
Case in point: AND please keep in mind that I have NO IDEA what EA/Maxis is planning for the future but being on this Forum and Facebook and Twitter I think the following in some ways sums up what some people are thinking about the current development process. "Movie Stuff" - When it was released several people I personally read on the above three methods inquired about "Movie Theaters/Cinema Venus" in the traditional sense as opposed to the “patio” version received and one of the responses by “Guru Somebody” was that Movie Theaters were deemed too big as a concept to go into a stuff pack. Okay I get that but there was nothing about movie theaters arriving in a GP or EP in the future and prevailing conclusion among people I talk to, which is in no way representative of the ENTIRE WORLD but I think it fits with the fear I see here and elsewhere regarding the future of the game, was that this is it. Stuff Pack-nothing more. Movie Theaters do not rank very high in surveys, although they're not at the bottom of the barrel so EA/Maxis can't justify a full GP but they don't want to ignore the survey completely so they throw a large scale “screen” in a pack, call it Movie Stuff and then people can kinda/sorta build a theater on their own without tickets, concessions attendants, true theater style seating ect. but it'll be a general idea and since that group is not huge maybe it will be enough to satisfy that niche. How many times have we seen a post saying "I don't just want a toddler tied to a stroller!" I think those sort of comments come from a fear of this standpoint. If the demand is not big enough to fully act on but not small enough to outright ignore then you get a sort of watered down alternative and a wink that maybe more will come in the future- no promises.
Is any of that true? How would I know that anymore then I know anything about the upcoming EP3 but I think (having flirted with marketing in college) that it is and I also think that many other people believe it as well. Even if they can’t put it into words, underlying their thoughts is this fear. We live in a very marketing savvy world and growing more so continually- my eight year old son said recently about a commercial “Yeah but it probably doesn’t really do all that stuff” because he’s already learned that Corporations and their marketing as things now stand can’t be trusted. People know that and that’s part of the problem. The anxiety of not being certain (even if it's just a slight uncertainty) that what you want is the same or close enough to what everyone else wants and thereby valid and going to be acted on is part of what sets them off and makes them resent the corporate decision making processes that they have very little knowledge of and feel they have ZERO control over. And to date EA/Maxis, unfortunately and for whatever assortment of reasons, has failed to alleviate those concerns with a most likely sizable and certainly vocal segment of their client base.
Telling clients about business marketing ideas like "telemetry" "data mining" "surveys" ect that purport to show just how small (even if it's just slightly smaller) the client’s desire is compared to all the other clients a business has to deal with does nothing to assuage their concerns and in fact deepens them. Because, THESE clients play offline, they NEVER received a survey OR (and this IS worse) their age group no longer needs responses- hmm... really. I’m going to sidetrack for a moment- EA/Maxis should be sending a survey to EVERYONE who uses the Sims 4 through Origin and EVERYONE who receives a survey should receive an opportunity to complete it. The last thing in the world that someone concerned about their standing in the eyes of business wants to hear is YOU ARE NO LONGER VALID BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE or any other defining factor that a company may choose to employ. It’s insulting and it (should be) untrue. Everyone’s opinion is valid and any upcoming excuses revolving around cost are moot in my opinion. A computer program can sift through five million responses with insignificant additional cost in electricity as easily as five thousand. Otherwise EA/Maxis has created a situation where a client feels excluded and ignored (that’s their perception true or not and it’s perception that is paramount here) in favor of whomever they imagine EA/Maxis is trying to target and the worry increases.
So, that’s my take on the current state of various levels of dissatisfaction about the future of the iteration boiled down to a single idea taken from this topic. People feel they have no voice due to the data collection methods utilized by EA/Maxis and the unfamiliarity of how those methods are manipulated, combined with filters that seem to in some cases discount their position as a client and of course the perception (true or otherwise) that the methods they have employed to vocalize their concerns are not as important as other methods or the importance is greatly downgraded due to the presence of the other methods. Communication is the key to negating these effects in my opinion but with an eye to long term development- sorry but no matter the reasons for not doing it I see no other path. One thing missing from a lot of the discussions on the last Quarterly Tease was that it really was something closer to a two week tease, not three months, as the information presented therein was exhausted around that time leaving two- two and a half months with nothing forthcoming regarding future packs. Yes, we may get patches and the assorted blogs and topic posts with them and they will be new but that's not "news" about the future. That's just an announcement of what's being downloaded that moment because the patch notes come with the patch- not in advance.
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
I live in a small town in the midwest and have pretty decent internet. And last year I lived in a town even smaller (population around 100 people total) and had even better internet than I have now. I'm well aware there are places with poor internet, but as time goes on, that issue becomes less and less, even in rural areas. You could run your entire home's wifi internet off your cell phone these days even.
You don't need superfast internet for games anyway. Even the most basic dsl/cable internet will work. Even 2GB downloads for me take up to an hour, and many games are 20GB+ so it takes quite a few hours to get them. But I just have them download as I sleep or while I'm at work. Patience is a virtue.
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
Same, My internet is really damaged, and worse: There isn't other services here, only one horrible choice.
So where I live the signal is terrible as well, maybe for being close to the ocean and nowhere. Also, I live in the CAPITAL, it's terrible. Now just add that with SA horrible internet speed on my area side, and voilá.
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
Same, My internet is really damaged, and worse: There isn't other services here, only one horrible choice.
So where I live the signal is terrible as well, maybe for being close to the ocean and nowhere. Also, I live in the CAPITAL, it's terrible. Now just add that with SA horrible internet speed on my area side, and voilá.
Lol I live outside the cityand for whatever reason when it rains my Internet switches off every few seconds lol.
I feel your pain XD
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
It takes me about 10 hours to download a game. That is slow internet. 2 hours for the patches if they are small 3 or more for the larger ones. So maybe I do not have internet as slow as yours, or maybe I do. I do not have cable internet or FIOS as I cannot get that here on the island. So, yeah you might find it funny, but you do not know my internet speed you only know what you hear or what the majority have.,
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
It takes me about 10 hours to download a game. That is slow internet. 2 hours for the patches if they are small 3 or more for the larger ones. So maybe I do not have internet as slow as yours, or maybe I do. I do not have cable internet or FIOS as I cannot get that here on the island. So, yeah you might find it funny, but you do not know my internet speed you only know what you hear or what the majority have.,
I think you missed the whole point of my post. I said some people there might also have slow internet but in general it's faster and that's when i fond it funny
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
It takes me about 10 hours to download a game. That is slow internet. 2 hours for the patches if they are small 3 or more for the larger ones. So maybe I do not have internet as slow as yours, or maybe I do. I do not have cable internet or FIOS as I cannot get that here on the island. So, yeah you might find it funny, but you do not know my internet speed you only know what you hear or what the majority have.,
I think you missed the whole point of my post. I said some people there might also have slow internet but in general it's faster and that's when i fond it funny
I understood, but really you only have a general idea of what we Americans have for internet, it is not all like that. The ones that play a lot of games have faster internet, there are some that cannot even afford to have internet here, as I am sure it is where you live. I think you find it funny that we have slow internet and we put up with it and play the games anyway. Generalizing usually does not get understood well on the web. So I find that "funny" when others continue to do it.
I think I like most of what you said. I'm surprised you didn't mention pets though.
I agree with supernaturals. I miss vampires, I would like my darker sims to be vampires and have weird abilities. I also LOVED witches and wizards and miss the alchemy trait so much.
I also agree with exploring thats why I miss having different worlds withe new plants, fish and gems to find. It would be awesome in the sims 4 with the secret spots.
Fashion is probably the 70% of my love for sims. I love being able to style them and I miss stuff packs based on stores. H&M was a personal favorite. For years I've been dreaming about a victoria secret, charlotte russe and forever 21 SP. The first thing I do is style my current sims with the new EPs, GPs and SPs the team releases if i think it fits their style.
Oh I LOVE pets. Especially dogs (I'm a dog person but I still like cats too!) and in my games my Sim always had two dogs to keep them company. My big thing is I absolutely want a hotdog dog costume XD
Since everyone made a big deal about the tweet, why not ask what type of EPs she likes. Do you think @SimGuruDrake could answer that? For example:
Cute EPs
- Any EP that includes what we consider cute (pets,babies and children)
Magical
- Mysterious worlds
- Mysterious Creatures
- Fantasy lover
Destinations
-Amazing worlds
- Brand new spaces for sims to do all sorts of new activities
Relationships
- Love related things
- Friendship related things
I actually just got a big grin on my face because no one has really asked me that! Just want to preface that what I'm about to say is 100% my own personal preferences and as per usual I do not include any hints whatsoever so please take what I am about to say at face value.
Now I'm thinking about stuff I've enjoyed from the past and new things that would be my dream addition. Looking at this as if the sky is the limit and could be any type of pack not just expansion:
On to the question!
Magical:
I LOVE witches and wizards. Learning to cast spells and the havoc it would cause when you get it wrong. Mythical creatures like baby dragons, mandrake plants, pixies, and centaurs would be awesome. (In my mind very much inspired by the likes of Harry Potter).
Exploration:
Venturing out to new destinations and exploring historical sites (including ruins) and learning about the different cultures and traditions. Learn new trades and new cuisines.
Fashion:
Start from the bottom on the indie scene and working up to being the top designer in the fashion world. Styling all new looks and new patterns that everyone just has to wear.
Forensic Files:
Various ways to cause questionable deaths to my Sims which lead to investigations by police to find the culprit (if you've ever watched the show forensic files you'd know what I mean.)
MEDIEVAL TIMES!!! Knights in shining armor, castles, fending off dragons (or befriending them and becoming a dragon rider), with inspirations from King Arthur and the Tudor Dynasty (I LOVE history). This would be perfect for fairies (especially if I ever wanted to recreate the story of Sleeping Beauty).
Other things that I would enjoy:
Vampires, Mermaids, Shape shifters, Farming / Living off the land (I am super into Stardew Valley), Entrepreneur career (build your own company from the ground up), Movie Star / Film Maker (including animated films).
Also some have asked how I play: I'm a bit of a deviant player / loner. My sims are normally very career focused and have a very small circle of friends and rarely do they have kids. Right now my current Sim (Evelyn Oak--her name is based after my all time favorite Pokemon and also my favorite character from the original Pokrmon series Gary Oak) is a "starving artist" trying to make her way in the art world. She is creative, childish (being a kid at heart helps her see the wonders and possibilities in everything around her--she totally collected and battled Voidcritter cards as a kid and was the local undefeated champion), and a loner. She spends a lot of her time painting and learning her trade. She is currently talking to this really cute gentleman she met during ghost night at the local pub (her neighbor invited her out to try and meet people) --don't worry he isn't a ghost but he is a cutie. He is a DJ and he inspires her to push herself creatively and to use her surroundings as inspiration, including listening to new types of music while she paints.
@Scobre has reminded me though that I need to get back to my Anne Boelyn sim --I was playing her on my work computer during my free moments.
If I were in your place I'd be making pretty please sounds and faces every day, at every team member to get those two.
I loved WA. It had a nice balance of sand box and quests. I'm a big true crime fan and I almost cried when I saw how silly the "crimes" for the PI in Ambitions were....but the police in TS4 is just way too linear for me.
"People really love to explore 'failure states. In fact, the failure states are really much more interesting than the success states." ~ Will Wright
Come on, ya'll are fussing about internet connections, don't be petty. We're trying to get answers for the sake of this game. Like a Simmer mentioned, New Ideas are fine, but don't PUSH them on us, when we don't even have the Basics. Switch it up! New, Old, Old, New, etc. This game is NOT complete, and people are getting plummed because we don't even have the basic necessities!
I am actually relieved that some Gurus are also deviant players I squealed at the part where @SimGuruDrake mentioned spells backfiring and causing havoc! Those are the things I miss from the game: unexpected consequences, accidents, chaos! So I'm glad a simmer with a deviant side has a voice in the team
Me too. I heard SimGuruAzure is a deviant Simmer as well, so yay two Gurus at least understand our play styles. Yeah I loved her ideas for spells and @MasonGamer will be happy to hear that since they are a Once Upon a Time fan too.
@MasonGamer OMG I LOVE ONCE UPON A TIME TOO!!! Mr. Gold is my absolutely favorite character with Regina in close second.
Yes and eek! making me squeal again that you love Once Upon a Time too. Yes Mr. Gold is one of my favorite character and Regina is awesome too. We should totally make a OUAT off-topic thread when the show airs again. I also love Captain Hook because he's hot and major reason why I love the show. I nearly cried when he died. I was like No!!!!!!!!!!! How could they? But I love that show. Reminds me a lot of the Twisted fairy tales books I would read growing up. Ok so as a deviant what are some of your favorite Sims deaths? Mine probably are electrocution, fire, drowning, jelly bean bush, and flies.
@SimGuruDrake If you can, please speak behalf of deviant players in regards to the Sims 4. I really miss the dark humor. I have a feeling you might understand the play style quite a bit. Please make sure that the darker side of the Sims is balanced more for this newest iteration. I feel like the style started to get watered down a bit since the Sims 3. I need the darker aspects of the Sims to appreciate the happy side of the Sims 4 more. It doesn't feel like Sims achieve anything without having the failures and consequences of their actions. Part of the reason why I loved aspiration failures and fears from the Sims 2 so much. I liked having that balance. Almost like the game has a ton of yang, but not enough yin to balance it out if that makes any sense. Why things like deaths, reactions, negative emotions, and supernaturals are important to me. Even toddlers make me appreciate the darker side because I love how they can be brats and make a mess out of the house sometimes. I love it when pets destroy the house too. Makes it more relatable to real life having things not go perfect. I think why I liked the dystopian world more than the utopian world in Into the Future EP. I like the messy aspects of life because it makes things interesting and unpredictable.
Post edited by Scobre on
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I am actually relieved that some Gurus are also deviant players I squealed at the part where @SimGuruDrake mentioned spells backfiring and causing havoc! Those are the things I miss from the game: unexpected consequences, accidents, chaos! So I'm glad a simmer with a deviant side has a voice in the team
Me too. I heard SimGuruAzure is a deviant Simmer as well, so yay two Gurus at least understand our play styles. Yeah I loved her ideas for spells and @MasonGamer will be happy to hear that since they are a Once Upon a Time fan too.
@MasonGamer OMG I LOVE ONCE UPON A TIME TOO!!! Mr. Gold is my absolutely favorite character with Regina in close second.
Yes and eek! making me squeal again that you love Once Upon a Time too. Yes Mr. Gold is one of my favorite character and Regina is awesome too. We should totally make a OUAT off-topic thread when the show airs again. I also love Captain Hook because he's hot and major reason why I love the show. I nearly cried when he died. I was like No!!!!!!!!!!! How could they? But I love that show. Reminds me a lot of the Twisted fairy tales books I would read growing up. Ok so as a deviant what are some of your favorite Sims deaths? Mine probably are electrocution, fire, drowning, jelly bean bush, and flies.
I love Once Upon a Time too. We need a fan club. Zelena is my favourite
If it's not seasons, generations, pets or supernatural people will be disappointed, they know we don't want new things and would rather have the other packs first.
I'm not making any comment about your speculation on what it could or couldn't be but your delivery made me want to comment on this because I personally think this really is a sad way to view things.
Why don't you want new experiences? In the grand schemes of things you must realize that there are others who do want new experiences with a bit of the old thrown in. Why don't you want to the team to push themselves creatively to try new things? This is honestly something I struggle with understanding when I see comments like that on the forums and would really love to understand this kind of mind set.
The real question is why can't your team give people what their asking for instead of having selective hearing. Sure, new experiences are great but ignoring the huge elephant in the room isn't going to fix the game either.
And whose voices should we only be listening to? The forums? Twitter? Reddit? YouTube? Facebook? Tumblr? Snapchat? Surveys? Fan Sites? When anyone says "give people what their asking for" it almost always is just about what is being asked about here in the forums and no where else. We have to look at the bigger picture, not silos. We have to see what the common denominator is among all of the voices to see if we can't pin-point what is the most important piece of the puzzle for that particular piece of content.
This is what scares a lot of people to death in regard to this game- myself included to some extent although I've mostly given up hope of getting what was stripped from the game that I enjoyed and just accepted the fact that while I like Sims 4 I'll most likely never love it as much as 2 and 3. However, back to the main point.
I fully understand corporate mass market reasoning that seeks to appease the broad swath of consumers to maximize profits but what if you are that player in the "silo"? What if you're in the forty percent instead of the sixty percent? What if you are a niche player? Of which I'm sure there are several types within the Sims franchise. The fact of the matter is and this is most likely especially true of a long term game franchise like The Sims, there is rarely one common denominator for all of the voices. Instead there are various percentages of various denominators scattered across the client base for this game. I think people instinctively know this and I think people are really worried their style of play is falling or will fall into one of those three groups and then they'll be overshadowed and largely ignored or (and this may be even worse) receive a watered down version of what they've been asking for.
Case in point: AND please keep in mind that I have NO IDEA what EA/Maxis is planning for the future but being on this Forum and Facebook and Twitter I think the following in some ways sums up what some people are thinking about the current development process. "Movie Stuff" - When it was released several people I personally read on the above three methods inquired about "Movie Theaters/Cinema Venus" in the traditional sense as opposed to the “patio” version received and one of the responses by “Guru Somebody” was that Movie Theaters were deemed too big as a concept to go into a stuff pack. Okay I get that but there was nothing about movie theaters arriving in a GP or EP in the future and prevailing conclusion among people I talk to, which is in no way representative of the ENTIRE WORLD but I think it fits with the fear I see here and elsewhere regarding the future of the game, was that this is it. Stuff Pack-nothing more. Movie Theaters do not rank very high in surveys, although they're not at the bottom of the barrel so EA/Maxis can't justify a full GP but they don't want to ignore the survey completely so they throw a large scale “screen” in a pack, call it Movie Stuff and then people can kinda/sorta build a theater on their own without tickets, concessions attendants, true theater style seating ect. but it'll be a general idea and since that group is not huge maybe it will be enough to satisfy that niche. How many times have we seen a post saying "I don't just want a toddler tied to a stroller!" I think those sort of comments come from a fear of this standpoint. If the demand is not big enough to fully act on but not small enough to outright ignore then you get a sort of watered down alternative and a wink that maybe more will come in the future- no promises.
Is any of that true? How would I know that anymore then I know anything about the upcoming EP3 but I think (having flirted with marketing in college) that it is and I also think that many other people believe it as well. Even if they can’t put it into words, underlying their thoughts is this fear. We live in a very marketing savvy world and growing more so continually- my eight year old son said recently about a commercial “Yeah but it probably doesn’t really do all that stuff” because he’s already learned that Corporations and their marketing as things now stand can’t be trusted. People know that and that’s part of the problem. The anxiety of not being certain (even if it's just a slight uncertainty) that what you want is the same or close enough to what everyone else wants and thereby valid and going to be acted on is part of what sets them off and makes them resent the corporate decision making processes that they have very little knowledge of and feel they have ZERO control over. And to date EA/Maxis, unfortunately and for whatever assortment of reasons, has failed to alleviate those concerns with a most likely sizable and certainly vocal segment of their client base.
Telling clients about business marketing ideas like "telemetry" "data mining" "surveys" ect that purport to show just how small (even if it's just slightly smaller) the client’s desire is compared to all the other clients a business has to deal with does nothing to assuage their concerns and in fact deepens them. Because, THESE clients play offline, they NEVER received a survey OR (and this IS worse) their age group no longer needs responses- hmm... really. I’m going to sidetrack for a moment- EA/Maxis should be sending a survey to EVERYONE who uses the Sims 4 through Origin and EVERYONE who receives a survey should receive an opportunity to complete it. The last thing in the world that someone concerned about their standing in the eyes of business wants to hear is YOU ARE NO LONGER VALID BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE or any other defining factor that a company may choose to employ. It’s insulting and it (should be) untrue. Everyone’s opinion is valid and any upcoming excuses revolving around cost are moot in my opinion. A computer program can sift through five million responses with insignificant additional cost in electricity as easily as five thousand. Otherwise EA/Maxis has created a situation where a client feels excluded and ignored (that’s their perception true or not and it’s perception that is paramount here) in favor of whomever they imagine EA/Maxis is trying to target and the worry increases.
So, that’s my take on the current state of various levels of dissatisfaction about the future of the iteration boiled down to a single idea taken from this topic. People feel they have no voice due to the data collection methods utilized by EA/Maxis and the unfamiliarity of how those methods are manipulated, combined with filters that seem to in some cases discount their position as a client and of course the perception (true or otherwise) that the methods they have employed to vocalize their concerns are not as important as other methods or the importance is greatly downgraded due to the presence of the other methods. Communication is the key to negating these effects in my opinion but with an eye to long term development- sorry but no matter the reasons for not doing it I see no other path. One thing missing from a lot of the discussions on the last Quarterly Tease was that it really was something closer to a two week tease, not three months, as the information presented therein was exhausted around that time leaving two- two and a half months with nothing forthcoming regarding future packs. Yes, we may get patches and the assorted blogs and topic posts with them and they will be new but that's not "news" about the future. That's just an announcement of what's being downloaded that moment because the patch notes come with the patch- not in advance.
I am in total agreement with you. And the part about certain fans being labeled as too old and not matching the target demographic EA is aiming for, is spot on. But EA is forgetting one tiny detail: We 'older' players have the resources to indulge our gaming passions, and the time to do so. But we are also a pain to deal with because many of us have been with the Sims franchise since the beginning and are accustomed to being taken a bit more seriously than we have been since TS4 was released. We are not the audience EA is looking for any longer because we want the things that made the Sims unique in the past, brought forward into TS4. And EA wanted to take TS4 in a totally new direction and attract a younger fan base. Which might be why certain surveys and polls were not handed out to everyone.
Certain segments of the fan base have been labeled as subsets or silent gamers. HUH? I am unique, and resent being labeled by questionable and incomplete data that only someone with a degree in marketing understands. There are times when people cannot be labeled because they fall outside the niche market the marketing teams are looking to target. Their solution to this problem seems to be to ignore us and hope we accept their vision for TS4 without questioning their logic. I don't see that happening anytime soon, EA. The Sims franchise is special to many because it gave us so many choices in how we choose to play our games.
I am not slamming the content we received in July and June at all. Those were solid and brought a lot of good content to the game. What I do find fault with is the game EA seems to be playing with the fans. We are here to comment on a game EA produces, and we play and support. So my best advice to EA is to stop playing the fans as if we are Sims. Our autonomy cannot be turned off, and we are free to choose to pull our support of the game at any time.
Considering that I loved everything on @SimGuruDrake's list, I' repeat what some others have said -- if she's excited about EP3, then I'm excited. Right now I'm addicted to Stardew Valley (just finished summer of year 1), and I loved TSM, just wish I could get it to play on Windows 10.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
Ha that's funny! So not true about internet being fast in capital cities. Power goes out a lot with storms. More like the big cities have the faster internet like LA, New York, San Francisco, and Portland.
Then factoring having multiple people in a household and with multiple devices, internet can slow down quite a bit. I'm guilty of that just from playing Splatoon. Why I'm glad the Sims got changed from only online to online for updates at least. I prefer not to have my data shared while playing the game. I hope that the Sims remains an offline game especially after the SimCity fiasco.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
You say us having seasons and pets built into a base game means we have to give up something? Seriously? That in and of itself is the reason we're not progressing. At this stage in the Sims series these features should be included in the base game. Why do we keep having to pay for things we've had since sims 2 all over again each time you all release a new iteration of the game. It's absurd.
Yes you'd have to give up something. There is a balancing act and you could never realistically have everything we've ever released in the past in one base game. I actually wonder how big of a download that base game would be...I'm sure someone here as done that type of math (if so please link me! I'd love to see what those numbers look like)
Bolded emphasis mine. Certainly it could be done if EA would release the base game on discs again. So we would, you know, OWN what we paid for, which would include being able to re-sell it in the future if we didn't want it any more. One of the MANY reasons I refuse to buy TS4 is its tied-to-Origin requirement, and also the reason I refuse to patch TS3 beyond 1.67.
Have fun limiting yourself to console gaming in a few years time, assuming even consoles keep selling their games on physical media. Discs are going by the wayside, especially for PC software. By the time Sims 4's lifecycle is over and Sims 5 comes out, I'll be surprised if there are any PC game discs sold. Online distribution becomes easier and easier as time goes on. Not to mention that old DRM methods on discs just end up making them outright unplayable eventually and all that.
If you don't live in a capital city, have fun trying to play anything at all! When plumming stuff packs take 3 hours to download and EPs aren't even worth trying to download, then you might as well give up playing games at all. Your dream world where everything is a digital-download is completely worthless unless everyone in the world has an extremely fast internet speed (which, by the way, they don't). Discs are the only way that most people (a.k.a people who don't live in LA) can even install the games. Then again, those lucky enough to be able to watch a YouTube video in 1080p wouldn't understand anyway.....
Also, DRM is no good terribad.
Also, I would like to be able to own what is paid for, instead of EA being able to take away the games without any warning or reason and asking for more money to buy their CEO another holiday home.
Where do you get the idea that only capital cities have fast internet in the U.S.? Certainly not the case.
I sympathize with you, I actually used to live somewhere where you could only get dialup. But unfortunately download-only is the wave of the future. I know it feels terribly unfair, I've been there, but there's no stopping it.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
It takes me about 10 hours to download a game. That is slow internet. 2 hours for the patches if they are small 3 or more for the larger ones. So maybe I do not have internet as slow as yours, or maybe I do. I do not have cable internet or FIOS as I cannot get that here on the island. So, yeah you might find it funny, but you do not know my internet speed you only know what you hear or what the majority have.,
I think you missed the whole point of my post. I said some people there might also have slow internet but in general it's faster and that's when i fond it funny
I understood, but really you only have a general idea of what we Americans have for internet, it is not all like that. The ones that play a lot of games have faster internet, there are some that cannot even afford to have internet here, as I am sure it is where you live. I think you find it funny that we have slow internet and we put up with it and play the games anyway. Generalizing usually does not get understood well on the web. So I find that "funny" when others continue to do it.
You see that's not what I meant. I meant I find it funny when people who can download 10gb or more in 2 hours or less say thay have slow internet. That's all
Come on, ya'll are fussing about internet connections, don't be petty. We're trying to get answers for the sake of this game. Like a Simmer mentioned, New Ideas are fine, but don't PUSH them on us, when we don't even have the Basics. Switch it up! New, Old, Old, New, etc. This game is NOT complete, and people are getting plummed because we don't even have the basic necessities!
Sim_Guru_Drake cannot answer your questions about any new content. She cannot comment on it. Of course she likes the Ep's she works for the company. She would not say she did not like them. And truth be known she most likely does like them, she plays the game. The game does need work, but new Ep's will not fix everything. Maybe the wait between the ep's will give us some bug fixes and patches that will add to the game. So trying to get answers for the sake of this game is kind of mute in my opinion. The answers cannot be given by the Guru's. Seems everything that Sims_Guru_Drake says gets taken as negative. Just think if you were in her shoes.
I'm just curious what patches we will get this fiscal quarter. I know that a new EP won't come until at least October, so it will be interesting to see what will come out by then.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
Comments
I'm not particularly looking for a Sims 2.1. There are things I feel can certainly be changed and/or left out. I like the idea of 'new.'
I just don't want it at the price of crippled freedom and creativity. The aspects I enjoyed most in the past were the abilities to play God in a sense that I had full rein not just over my sims, but over my environment too.
Another thing I'm not fond of is over-sized objects. But that's me. As much as I wish this game would live up to my standards, it clearly does not, and that is unlikely to change.
I don't expect a full-blown game from the get-go. But I do expect to have a full meal before waiting for the desserts to follow.
How about you post relevant data? I don't know how you can intelligently make a comparison when you only have one chart? Literally one from 2016 that gives you jack squat in regards to the packs you're trying to downplay.
GTW is #4 for the entire year? What are the parameters? Where is GT? Are we to believe that GT didn't chart in it's fiscal quarter? How about it's fiscal year?? Does this chart not cover that much data? (As in, this chart is not even complete?) Can you answer any of these questions, or do you only have the "answers" when it involves dragging a former Maxis product down??
Anywho - until you post more information you have absolutely no credibility to talk about any of this. You don't work for Maxis/EA, you clearly don't know how to effectively compare different products, and you are a compulsive distributor of false info; but you defend TS4 to the extreme so the mods clearly let your behavior slide.
I can understand your point of view. Things do take time to develop though, even Stuff Packs need a bit of time now they have the gameplay that needs coding with new animations. So there's going to be a delay between what we ask for and when we get it. I do hope those toddlers are on their way soon though! It does feel like a long wait.
Oh yes! I forgot about the careers! I was one of the people who were upset about there being too many OTT careers and not enough basic careers, and those two were on my list. I was really happy to get those!
My son loves that Darth Vader costume! And while it's not something I wanted for my game, it's pretty funny to see Darth sitting on the toilet with a drink in both hands.
It would be nice if people could be happy for others. Maybe they didn't want a certain feature but they could be happy for those who did. I feel like a forum pariah because I'm not that interested in Pets but I really want Apartment Life, Freetime, Superstar and University. I'm a loudmouth, but sometimes I feel intimidated by the people chanting PETS! GEN!! SEASONS!!! I'd be happy if we got those because other people clearly want them so much. It's not that I don't want those too, but there must be people who get their voice drowned out by the crowd here. I know a ton of people feel abandoned because they normally play with Supernaturals, but that isn't part of the chant. Maybe that's another reason why the gurus look around to see what people are saying in other places.
This is what scares a lot of people to death in regard to this game- myself included to some extent although I've mostly given up hope of getting what was stripped from the game that I enjoyed and just accepted the fact that while I like Sims 4 I'll most likely never love it as much as 2 and 3. However, back to the main point.
I fully understand corporate mass market reasoning that seeks to appease the broad swath of consumers to maximize profits but what if you are that player in the "silo"? What if you're in the forty percent instead of the sixty percent? What if you are a niche player? Of which I'm sure there are several types within the Sims franchise. The fact of the matter is and this is most likely especially true of a long term game franchise like The Sims, there is rarely one common denominator for all of the voices. Instead there are various percentages of various denominators scattered across the client base for this game. I think people instinctively know this and I think people are really worried their style of play is falling or will fall into one of those three groups and then they'll be overshadowed and largely ignored or (and this may be even worse) receive a watered down version of what they've been asking for.
Case in point: AND please keep in mind that I have NO IDEA what EA/Maxis is planning for the future but being on this Forum and Facebook and Twitter I think the following in some ways sums up what some people are thinking about the current development process. "Movie Stuff" - When it was released several people I personally read on the above three methods inquired about "Movie Theaters/Cinema Venus" in the traditional sense as opposed to the “patio” version received and one of the responses by “Guru Somebody” was that Movie Theaters were deemed too big as a concept to go into a stuff pack. Okay I get that but there was nothing about movie theaters arriving in a GP or EP in the future and prevailing conclusion among people I talk to, which is in no way representative of the ENTIRE WORLD but I think it fits with the fear I see here and elsewhere regarding the future of the game, was that this is it. Stuff Pack-nothing more. Movie Theaters do not rank very high in surveys, although they're not at the bottom of the barrel so EA/Maxis can't justify a full GP but they don't want to ignore the survey completely so they throw a large scale “screen” in a pack, call it Movie Stuff and then people can kinda/sorta build a theater on their own without tickets, concessions attendants, true theater style seating ect. but it'll be a general idea and since that group is not huge maybe it will be enough to satisfy that niche. How many times have we seen a post saying "I don't just want a toddler tied to a stroller!" I think those sort of comments come from a fear of this standpoint. If the demand is not big enough to fully act on but not small enough to outright ignore then you get a sort of watered down alternative and a wink that maybe more will come in the future- no promises.
Is any of that true? How would I know that anymore then I know anything about the upcoming EP3 but I think (having flirted with marketing in college) that it is and I also think that many other people believe it as well. Even if they can’t put it into words, underlying their thoughts is this fear. We live in a very marketing savvy world and growing more so continually- my eight year old son said recently about a commercial “Yeah but it probably doesn’t really do all that stuff” because he’s already learned that Corporations and their marketing as things now stand can’t be trusted. People know that and that’s part of the problem. The anxiety of not being certain (even if it's just a slight uncertainty) that what you want is the same or close enough to what everyone else wants and thereby valid and going to be acted on is part of what sets them off and makes them resent the corporate decision making processes that they have very little knowledge of and feel they have ZERO control over. And to date EA/Maxis, unfortunately and for whatever assortment of reasons, has failed to alleviate those concerns with a most likely sizable and certainly vocal segment of their client base.
Telling clients about business marketing ideas like "telemetry" "data mining" "surveys" ect that purport to show just how small (even if it's just slightly smaller) the client’s desire is compared to all the other clients a business has to deal with does nothing to assuage their concerns and in fact deepens them. Because, THESE clients play offline, they NEVER received a survey OR (and this IS worse) their age group no longer needs responses- hmm... really. I’m going to sidetrack for a moment- EA/Maxis should be sending a survey to EVERYONE who uses the Sims 4 through Origin and EVERYONE who receives a survey should receive an opportunity to complete it. The last thing in the world that someone concerned about their standing in the eyes of business wants to hear is YOU ARE NO LONGER VALID BECAUSE OF YOUR AGE or any other defining factor that a company may choose to employ. It’s insulting and it (should be) untrue. Everyone’s opinion is valid and any upcoming excuses revolving around cost are moot in my opinion. A computer program can sift through five million responses with insignificant additional cost in electricity as easily as five thousand. Otherwise EA/Maxis has created a situation where a client feels excluded and ignored (that’s their perception true or not and it’s perception that is paramount here) in favor of whomever they imagine EA/Maxis is trying to target and the worry increases.
So, that’s my take on the current state of various levels of dissatisfaction about the future of the iteration boiled down to a single idea taken from this topic. People feel they have no voice due to the data collection methods utilized by EA/Maxis and the unfamiliarity of how those methods are manipulated, combined with filters that seem to in some cases discount their position as a client and of course the perception (true or otherwise) that the methods they have employed to vocalize their concerns are not as important as other methods or the importance is greatly downgraded due to the presence of the other methods. Communication is the key to negating these effects in my opinion but with an eye to long term development- sorry but no matter the reasons for not doing it I see no other path. One thing missing from a lot of the discussions on the last Quarterly Tease was that it really was something closer to a two week tease, not three months, as the information presented therein was exhausted around that time leaving two- two and a half months with nothing forthcoming regarding future packs. Yes, we may get patches and the assorted blogs and topic posts with them and they will be new but that's not "news" about the future. That's just an announcement of what's being downloaded that moment because the patch notes come with the patch- not in advance.
I too was going to comment. I live in the US and I have very slow internet speeds, and since I live on an island I can't get them any higher. Most of my downloading I do at night while I sleep so it is done in the morning as it takes so long. There are ways to manage with slow internet speeds and dial up, just plan out the time for it. But download only and console gaming is the way of the future by the looks of technology progression.
You know I find it quite funny when americans say they have slow internet. I know your internet is slower than most of Europe and Asia but compared to internet in SA it is fast. Like when they say their internet is slow and have to wait like and hour maybe 2 for 10gb i have to wait at least 6 - 8 hours on the fastest connection available.
Now your internet personally may not be that fast but it just reminded me of how funny it is to me always.
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
I live in a small town in the midwest and have pretty decent internet. And last year I lived in a town even smaller (population around 100 people total) and had even better internet than I have now. I'm well aware there are places with poor internet, but as time goes on, that issue becomes less and less, even in rural areas. You could run your entire home's wifi internet off your cell phone these days even.
You don't need superfast internet for games anyway. Even the most basic dsl/cable internet will work. Even 2GB downloads for me take up to an hour, and many games are 20GB+ so it takes quite a few hours to get them. But I just have them download as I sleep or while I'm at work. Patience is a virtue.
Same, My internet is really damaged, and worse: There isn't other services here, only one horrible choice.
So where I live the signal is terrible as well, maybe for being close to the ocean and nowhere. Also, I live in the CAPITAL, it's terrible. Now just add that with SA horrible internet speed on my area side, and voilá.
Origin ID: Hyeion
Lol I live outside the cityand for whatever reason when it rains my Internet switches off every few seconds lol.
I feel your pain XD
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
It takes me about 10 hours to download a game. That is slow internet. 2 hours for the patches if they are small 3 or more for the larger ones. So maybe I do not have internet as slow as yours, or maybe I do. I do not have cable internet or FIOS as I cannot get that here on the island. So, yeah you might find it funny, but you do not know my internet speed you only know what you hear or what the majority have.,
I think you missed the whole point of my post. I said some people there might also have slow internet but in general it's faster and that's when i fond it funny
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
I understood, but really you only have a general idea of what we Americans have for internet, it is not all like that. The ones that play a lot of games have faster internet, there are some that cannot even afford to have internet here, as I am sure it is where you live. I think you find it funny that we have slow internet and we put up with it and play the games anyway. Generalizing usually does not get understood well on the web. So I find that "funny" when others continue to do it.
Oh I LOVE pets. Especially dogs (I'm a dog person but I still like cats too!) and in my games my Sim always had two dogs to keep them company. My big thing is I absolutely want a hotdog dog costume XD
If I were in your place I'd be making pretty please sounds and faces every day, at every team member to get those two.
I loved WA. It had a nice balance of sand box and quests. I'm a big true crime fan and I almost cried when I saw how silly the "crimes" for the PI in Ambitions were....but the police in TS4 is just way too linear for me.
@SimGuruDrake If you can, please speak behalf of deviant players in regards to the Sims 4. I really miss the dark humor. I have a feeling you might understand the play style quite a bit. Please make sure that the darker side of the Sims is balanced more for this newest iteration. I feel like the style started to get watered down a bit since the Sims 3. I need the darker aspects of the Sims to appreciate the happy side of the Sims 4 more. It doesn't feel like Sims achieve anything without having the failures and consequences of their actions. Part of the reason why I loved aspiration failures and fears from the Sims 2 so much. I liked having that balance. Almost like the game has a ton of yang, but not enough yin to balance it out if that makes any sense. Why things like deaths, reactions, negative emotions, and supernaturals are important to me. Even toddlers make me appreciate the darker side because I love how they can be brats and make a mess out of the house sometimes. I love it when pets destroy the house too. Makes it more relatable to real life having things not go perfect. I think why I liked the dystopian world more than the utopian world in Into the Future EP. I like the messy aspects of life because it makes things interesting and unpredictable.
I love Once Upon a Time too. We need a fan club. Zelena is my favourite
I am in total agreement with you. And the part about certain fans being labeled as too old and not matching the target demographic EA is aiming for, is spot on. But EA is forgetting one tiny detail: We 'older' players have the resources to indulge our gaming passions, and the time to do so. But we are also a pain to deal with because many of us have been with the Sims franchise since the beginning and are accustomed to being taken a bit more seriously than we have been since TS4 was released. We are not the audience EA is looking for any longer because we want the things that made the Sims unique in the past, brought forward into TS4. And EA wanted to take TS4 in a totally new direction and attract a younger fan base. Which might be why certain surveys and polls were not handed out to everyone.
Certain segments of the fan base have been labeled as subsets or silent gamers. HUH? I am unique, and resent being labeled by questionable and incomplete data that only someone with a degree in marketing understands. There are times when people cannot be labeled because they fall outside the niche market the marketing teams are looking to target. Their solution to this problem seems to be to ignore us and hope we accept their vision for TS4 without questioning their logic. I don't see that happening anytime soon, EA. The Sims franchise is special to many because it gave us so many choices in how we choose to play our games.
I am not slamming the content we received in July and June at all. Those were solid and brought a lot of good content to the game. What I do find fault with is the game EA seems to be playing with the fans. We are here to comment on a game EA produces, and we play and support. So my best advice to EA is to stop playing the fans as if we are Sims. Our autonomy cannot be turned off, and we are free to choose to pull our support of the game at any time.
Then factoring having multiple people in a household and with multiple devices, internet can slow down quite a bit. I'm guilty of that just from playing Splatoon. Why I'm glad the Sims got changed from only online to online for updates at least. I prefer not to have my data shared while playing the game. I hope that the Sims remains an offline game especially after the SimCity fiasco.
You see that's not what I meant. I meant I find it funny when people who can download 10gb or more in 2 hours or less say thay have slow internet. That's all
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
Sim_Guru_Drake cannot answer your questions about any new content. She cannot comment on it. Of course she likes the Ep's she works for the company. She would not say she did not like them. And truth be known she most likely does like them, she plays the game. The game does need work, but new Ep's will not fix everything. Maybe the wait between the ep's will give us some bug fixes and patches that will add to the game. So trying to get answers for the sake of this game is kind of mute in my opinion. The answers cannot be given by the Guru's. Seems everything that Sims_Guru_Drake says gets taken as negative. Just think if you were in her shoes.