Lines of communication are opening up YAY!

ladybreid · April 2016

4 days to go!!!

xoJessi · April 2016

SimGuruDrake wrote: »

I don't work in development so I would never be able to give that kind of answer but if it was never ever ever ever ever ever going to even in the slightest bit happen at any point ever in the game we would be able to give you an answer.

But you get into a weird area, an example of this would be if we said X is never going to happen and then 2 or 3 years later we decide to do X but during that 2 to 3 years we said Y wasn't going to happen either but we ended up making X happen despite us saying 2 or 3 years ago that it wouldn't ever happen then those who wanted Y would be like "Well you made X happen even though you said it wouldn't so why aren't you doing Y?!"

We'd rather not speak in absolutes unless we know that we never plan to explore something.

That's way too many evers to hang on to hahaha. I can use that same logic in regards to winning the lotto, so I know where I stand. But I 100% appreciate your comment :-) Thanks for communicating with us.

Cinebar · April 2016

@SimguruDrake, I hope you guys are exploring X and Y, I will be happy to lend you a shovel, a magnifying glass, a microscope, a chemistry set, archeologist instruments for digging the finer points, etc. lol

AquaGamer1212 · April 2016

MocaJava wrote: »

sunman502 wrote: »

MocaJava wrote: »

SimGuruDrake wrote: »

DegrassiGen wrote: »

@MocaJava Exactly! Someone should just directly ask a Guru on what they can talk about to get straight to the point rather then having responses like "We can't talk about the game, The teaser trailer, the teaser trailer to the trailer, the trailer trailer, we can't talk about the stuff pack, the game pack, the expansion pack, my brand new fanny pack". Then I would ask "Well what can you talk about" and they would be like "Did you know The Sims 4 was made by Maxis?!?" Uhh....

We can talk about stuff that is already out or is officially announced (teaser trailers are a gray area where we can discuss what is shown in them but can't talk more until additional information has already been officially stated --these are not the same as launch trailers though). We cannot talk about future content until it has been announced.

SimGuruGraham talks a lot about development and the process on what goes into stuff packs if you're really interested in picking his brain about that

In other words, if they don't announce toddlers coming Tuesday, they're not going to tell us whether they're ever coming or not. So best not to bother asking.

No not true! In SimGuruDrake's last posted comment on here. They will be able to tell us for certain if toddlers will never ever be in Sims 4.

How I read it was that they probably wouldn't because if they said for instance, 'we'll never be able to do toddlers or pets' and then they eventually came out with pets, people would be furious they couldn't manage toddlers as well. I'm guessing they'd rather err on the side of caution and just not comment at all. But who knows, I could be wrong.

SimGuruDrake confirmed they won't be talking about Toddlers on Tuesday.

BlueBlack007 · April 2016

Thanks for the heads up AquaSimmer1212, now I know I wont bother to be on the 19th, since Toddlers are a No for the 19th, I will do other stuff then, instead of wasting My time.

AquaGamer1212 · April 2016

BlueBlack007 wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up AquaSimmer1212, now I know I wont bother to be on the 19th, since Toddlers are a No for the 19th, I will do other stuff then, instead of wasting My time.

Well you could pop in for 5 minutes to learn what GP03 is.

BlueBlack007 · April 2016

Nah that would only bore me, but thanks just the same,

PHOEBESMOM601 · April 2016

BlueBlack007 wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up AquaSimmer1212, now I know I wont bother to be on the 19th, since Toddlers are a No for the 19th, I will do other stuff then, instead of wasting My time.

I know what you mean. Except for me unless it includes another life state, grungy build/buy or improvements to sand box play I won't be interested. I'm very tired of new and shiny things to add to a happy, happy, grinning la la land.

123w4 · April 2016

> @Aine said:
> SimGuruGraham wrote: »
>
> Cinebar wrote: »
>
> I thought they said that tax law agreement called something with an N but not NSA lol was the reason they can't talk about anything they are working on...if they can now, what changed? or is this just about an upcoming game pack of some sort?
>
>
>
>
> Not sure where you read about this, but here's a super quick explanation... I'm simplifying or glossing over a lot of finer points here, but this is the crux of what we deal with. The issue relates to when we can count revenue on sales of a product.
>
> For upcoming content that we plan to sell, we can announce it whenever we want and it doesn't impact our financials because you haven't had the opportunity to purchase it yet.
>
> For upcoming content that's planned to be a free addition to a product that you've already purchased - for example, when pools were added to the game - then once we've announced that content, it needs to be made available to a consumer within the same financial quarter that we announced that content in. If that content does not launch within that quarter, then we can't recognize any of the revenue we've made on sales of the game until we deliver on the expectation we established.
>
> Things become slightly more complex for us, because we frequently launch new free content alongside new paid content.
>
>
>
>
> That's is very interesting, thanks for explaining. :)
>
> It doesn't explain the rigorous code of silence you guys have to deal with though, but that is probably part of things you can't discuss, so that's a topic for another time I suppose.
>
> SO basically there is tons of stuff Maxis as a company could say, but haven't. Hopefully that will change going forward. @SimGuruDrake should have tons of props for hearing us, and also whoever made the decision inside Maxis (I'm not sure who's in charge for the sims these days). ;)

Its SimGuruLyndsey! Shes in charge of The Sims 4 but SImGuruRachel is the on that is in charge o TheSims

ladybreid · April 2016

AquaSimmer1212 wrote: »

MocaJava wrote: »

sunman502 wrote: »

MocaJava wrote: »

SimGuruDrake wrote: »

DegrassiGen wrote: »

@MocaJava Exactly! Someone should just directly ask a Guru on what they can talk about to get straight to the point rather then having responses like "We can't talk about the game, The teaser trailer, the teaser trailer to the trailer, the trailer trailer, we can't talk about the stuff pack, the game pack, the expansion pack, my brand new fanny pack". Then I would ask "Well what can you talk about" and they would be like "Did you know The Sims 4 was made by Maxis?!?" Uhh....

We can talk about stuff that is already out or is officially announced (teaser trailers are a gray area where we can discuss what is shown in them but can't talk more until additional information has already been officially stated --these are not the same as launch trailers though). We cannot talk about future content until it has been announced.

SimGuruGraham talks a lot about development and the process on what goes into stuff packs if you're really interested in picking his brain about that

In other words, if they don't announce toddlers coming Tuesday, they're not going to tell us whether they're ever coming or not. So best not to bother asking.

No not true! In SimGuruDrake's last posted comment on here. They will be able to tell us for certain if toddlers will never ever be in Sims 4.

How I read it was that they probably wouldn't because if they said for instance, 'we'll never be able to do toddlers or pets' and then they eventually came out with pets, people would be furious they couldn't manage toddlers as well. I'm guessing they'd rather err on the side of caution and just not comment at all. But who knows, I could be wrong.

SimGuruDrake confirmed they won't be talking about Toddlers on Tuesday.

I haven't seen that post where she said that is it in this thread?

Polyrhythm · April 2016

She posted it in a thread that was closed and deleted (the OPs question had been answered)
The quote in also in toddler ideas threads, and Drake explained it a bit more.

Scobre · April 2016

halimali1980 wrote: »

SimGuruDrake wrote: »

BatmanFanGirl wrote: »

@SimGuruDrake

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to answer this but if you could respond with "I can't talk about that." I would appreciate it.

Do you know what things seem to have changed so much since Sims 3 and before. I felt like we got a lot more information about upcoming packs/store stuff in the past. Did EA/Maxis just change their policy on how content is to be discussed? If so is that only for the Sims franchise or all it's games?

Thanks so much.

Also I know we can be frustrated and upset but I think all of us sensible people know that this would be hire ups in the corporation that make these decisions and not you. So I'm sorry if people are yelling/being mean to you guys.

I have not been at the company long (will only be a year on May 4 --GIF party that day?! Yes? YES!) but SimGuruGraham provided a simplified version of what we essentially deal with regarding communications (I'm keeping the original comment he was responding to otherwise it sounds weird):

SimGuruGraham wrote: »

Cinebar wrote: »

I thought they said that tax law agreement called something with an N but not NSA lol was the reason they can't talk about anything they are working on...if they can now, what changed? or is this just about an upcoming game pack of some sort?

Not sure where you read about this, but here's a super quick explanation... I'm simplifying or glossing over a lot of finer points here, but this is the crux of what we deal with. The issue relates to when we can count revenue on sales of a product.

For upcoming content that we plan to sell, we can announce it whenever we want and it doesn't impact our financials because you haven't had the opportunity to purchase it yet.

For upcoming content that's planned to be a free addition to a product that you've already purchased - for example, when pools were added to the game - then once we've announced that content, it needs to be made available to a consumer within the same financial quarter that we announced that content in. If that content does not launch within that quarter, then we can't recognize any of the revenue we've made on sales of the game until we deliver on the expectation we established.

Things become slightly more complex for us, because we frequently launch new free content alongside new paid content.

Thank you for answering this. But am I the only one here who did not understand a thing from what Graham said here?

I'll try best to explain it, since accounting is what I went to school for but last sentence is a bit iffy even for me. So every company has a period of three months in which to get their financial statements in (income statements mainly). So content they sell through packs, has no impact on the income statement or budget because it hasn't been sold yet. But the free content has to be announced in the same financial quarter which is like a period of three months. If they content doesn't get patched in within those three months, then they can't recognize the profit of the game until the content is patched in. Basically it is easier to tell the profit from paid content than it is for free content I think is what Graham was saying. From the trend so far, escape in the first three months of the Sims 4, some of the free content comes alongside a paid content product. So it is not like the free content isn't funded because it is. I guess I should tag @SimGuruGraham if he needs to explain it further especially if I did a bad job of it which I probably did. I do find it interesting how finances work for different companies.

Speaking about patches though, this thread is pretty cool of ideas Simmers want for them so far: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/883976/what-do-you-want-to-see-patched-in/p1

halimali1980 · April 2016

MinnieMouse wrote: »

> @halimali1980 said:
> Thank you for answering this. But am I the only one here who did not understand a thing from what Graham said here?

@halimali1980 what Graham is saying is that they cannot announce or talk about future free content unless they are 100% sure they can release it in the same quarter. Otherwise it has an adverse impact on their financials. So basically, if they are planning to release toddlers as a free patch someday, we won't hear about it until they know for certain they can release it within the same quarter.

My speculation (pure speculation here, obviously) is that they are working on or planning to work on toddlers as a free patch. That's why they won't tell us no or rule it out. But they can't confirm that they're working on them until it's almost time to release because of the above reasons. Which frustrates a lot of people because they feel like the team isn't being open, where in reality, the team's hands are tied and they simply cannot say anything (no matter how much they want to). But again... those are just my (optimistic) thoughts.

Sorry but they are not telling us ANYTHING. Free or not free, we are not getting any information from EA. So why is Graham saying they cannot talk about "Free Stuff"?
The fans and customers are kept in complete darkness. We have no idea where this game is heading.

Cinebar · April 2016

What is more eye opening is the fact he said they could talk about paid content anytime they wanted. My question still remains then why haven't they been. I don't really care about free stuff never being told until read to release. But that isn't what he said bout paid content. He said quote...'whenever we want'...to talk about it. Just like CEOs have said.

Scobre · April 2016

Cinebar wrote: »

What is more eye opening is the fact he said they could talk about paid content anytime they wanted. My question still remains then why haven't they been. I don't really care about free stuff never being told until read to release. But that isn't what he said bout paid content. He said quote...'whenever we want'...to talk about it. Just like CEOs have said.

They can announce it whenever they want so like say when the release date is. I don't know why they haven't or why they wait until a week or two before a pack release.

halimali1980 · April 2016

Scobre wrote: »

halimali1980 wrote: »

SimGuruDrake wrote: »

BatmanFanGirl wrote: »

@SimGuruDrake

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to answer this but if you could respond with "I can't talk about that." I would appreciate it.

Do you know what things seem to have changed so much since Sims 3 and before. I felt like we got a lot more information about upcoming packs/store stuff in the past. Did EA/Maxis just change their policy on how content is to be discussed? If so is that only for the Sims franchise or all it's games?

Thanks so much.

Also I know we can be frustrated and upset but I think all of us sensible people know that this would be hire ups in the corporation that make these decisions and not you. So I'm sorry if people are yelling/being mean to you guys.

I have not been at the company long (will only be a year on May 4 --GIF party that day?! Yes? YES!) but SimGuruGraham provided a simplified version of what we essentially deal with regarding communications (I'm keeping the original comment he was responding to otherwise it sounds weird):

SimGuruGraham wrote: »

Cinebar wrote: »

I thought they said that tax law agreement called something with an N but not NSA lol was the reason they can't talk about anything they are working on...if they can now, what changed? or is this just about an upcoming game pack of some sort?

Not sure where you read about this, but here's a super quick explanation... I'm simplifying or glossing over a lot of finer points here, but this is the crux of what we deal with. The issue relates to when we can count revenue on sales of a product.

For upcoming content that we plan to sell, we can announce it whenever we want and it doesn't impact our financials because you haven't had the opportunity to purchase it yet.

For upcoming content that's planned to be a free addition to a product that you've already purchased - for example, when pools were added to the game - then once we've announced that content, it needs to be made available to a consumer within the same financial quarter that we announced that content in. If that content does not launch within that quarter, then we can't recognize any of the revenue we've made on sales of the game until we deliver on the expectation we established.

Things become slightly more complex for us, because we frequently launch new free content alongside new paid content.

Thank you for answering this. But am I the only one here who did not understand a thing from what Graham said here?

I'll try best to explain it, since accounting is what I went to school for but last sentence is a bit iffy even for me. So every company has a period of three months in which to get their financial statements in (income statements mainly). So content they sell through packs, has no impact on the income statement or budget because it hasn't been sold yet. But the free content has to be announced in the same financial quarter which is like a period of three months. If they content doesn't get patched in within those three months, then they can't recognize the profit of the game until the content is patched in. Basically it is easier to tell the profit from paid content than it is for free content I think is what Graham was saying. From the trend so far, escape in the first three months of the Sims 4, some of the free content comes alongside a paid content product. So it is not like the free content isn't funded because it is. I guess I should tag @SimGuruGraham if he needs to explain it further especially if I did a bad job of it which I probably did. I do find it interesting how finances work for different companies.

Speaking about patches though, this thread is pretty cool of ideas Simmers want for them so far: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/883976/what-do-you-want-to-see-patched-in/p1

Graham should talk in a way so that fans understand what he is trying to say. I find all the sentences are very vague. We are customers, normal fans. We are not another company that is trying to buy or make an acquisition of EA to understand its balance sheet or how the income channels are working.

The fans are asking for clear lines of communication. Something similar to the leaflets we used to get with TS2 packs!
The communication channels have increased in the past few years and they are free but EA is making things more difficult.

I don't like this.

Cinebar · April 2016

@Scobre, yeah, note he didn't mention marketing or Andrew Wilson, or Rachel Franklin etc. He said whenever we want.... Granted I'm sure they want all that to fall within a certain time of a quarter so sells will do good or look better within a three month period...but just like CEOs have said that some said that was just EA saying it and not true, Maxis can release and talk about their paid content when they want to, and when they are ready etc. EA doesn't stop them in that regard. And Andrew Wilson encourages more involvement and announcements of their content (under all their games) and it sees it has been Maxis and not EA just as EA has said it is.

Scobre · April 2016

halimali1980 wrote: »

Graham should talk in a way so that fans understand what he is trying to say. I find all the sentences are very vague. We are customers, normal fans. We are not another company that is trying to buy or make an acquisition of EA to understand its balance sheet or how the income channels are working.

The fans are asking for clear lines of communication. Something similar to the leaflets we used to get with TS2 packs!
The communication channels have increased in the past few years and they are free but EA is making things more difficult.

I don't like this.

Yeah I agree. Communication needs a lot of improvements still. I loved those leaflets and wish those would return. The Sims 4 in general is very vague and uncertain.

@Cinebar Yeah I think how Maxis handles things and EA handles things seems to be different. Maxis seems to have more strict communication rules than what other EA games have which is odd.

ladybreid · April 2016

Well 3 more days and we will see if they truly are going to open up on what to expect. I understand the assumptions being made by some here that it will be more vague information or very little information but in 3 days we will know.

I hope that this is a sign of change and until the 19th I am going to just be happy about it and hope that i'm not wrong.

To7m · April 2016

Idk. I feel that if they were truely opening up any lines of communication then they would've just done so. Why build the hype? "Ooh, we're going to tell you something, but not until Tuesday..." I don't buy it. If they want to communicate - then communicate. I don't need to be prepped for it like a 5 year old before the dentist. This simple fact that people even have to be hyped over a life stage that should never have been removed is enough to put me off.

Seeing is believing with this company. And I see nothing has changed.

--T

Katlyn2525 · April 2016

It would be nice if there were better lines of communication. Unfortunately it seems a bit outsourced from the official forum. You shouldn't have to beg for information all the time, or worse yet ride the hype train on some silly rumor only so you can be disappointed later. Instead you should be excited by official news about the product. Oh well...

Scobre · April 2016

Yeah so far the Sims 4 communication has been like this, full of disappointment.

sunman502 · April 2016

Scobre wrote: »

Yeah so far the Sims 4 communication has been like this, full of disappointment.

Yes it would fit that line from the Charlie Brown Halloween Special!

catloverplayer · April 2016

ladybreid wrote: »

Well 3 more days and we will see if they truly are going to open up on what to expect. I understand the assumptions being made by some here that it will be more vague information or very little information but in 3 days we will know.

I hope that this is a sign of change and until the 19th I am going to just be happy about it and hope that i'm not wrong.

Well I hope we get more then vague info Tuesday.

sunman502 · April 2016

catloverplayer wrote: »

ladybreid wrote: »

Well 3 more days and we will see if they truly are going to open up on what to expect. I understand the assumptions being made by some here that it will be more vague information or very little information but in 3 days we will know.

I hope that this is a sign of change and until the 19th I am going to just be happy about it and hope that i'm not wrong.

Well I hope we get more then vague info Tuesday.

I'm pretty certain that you won't find to many people disagreeing with you on that here CLP!

The Sims Forums

Lines of communication are opening up YAY!

Comments