@SimGuruDrake I feel like you keep missing the point. We don't want excuses, we want answers. I understand that you can't give us the answers we want, but then can't you recognize that something is wrong with that? That is the issue, not us. Can't you go to EA and try to convince them to make a change in their policy instead of telling us to change our expectations over and over? Fans aren't going to stop wanting to know what's going on in the game. No matter what you think, the expectation that we are supposed to be "patient" for two years about toddlers (for example) with no sign or word that we'll ever get it is just not reasonable. You may disagree, but look around...it's not really an opinion. It's a fact that what's happening now isn't working. Look at how frustrated everyone is! That's all the evidence you need. No excuses will change that fact. No matter whose fault this is (yours, ours, Maxis, EA, Gurus...etc.), no matter what the reasons are, people are unhappy.
@mattandphilsims2 You miss the point that the only answer you will get from me is the one I have already given. If you want open communication then you have to stop saying that everything we say is an excuse --otherwise what is the point of myself or anyone talking to you in the first place? I could be doing a bunch of my other work that is more pressing than have a conversation with someone who continues to accuse me of making excuses / lying when I have explained time and time again why I can't say anymore than I already have. You are not the exception to regulations / laws.
Your responses always seem to indicate that you don't understand what we're talking about, which is why we keep saying the same thing over and over. I never said that you are a liar...and just because we disagree with what you're saying doesn't mean that it's invalid. You keep criticizing us for not taking what you say seriously, and I'm trying to tell you that it's because you aren't saying enough. Again, I get that you CAN'T say more, but I think something needs to be done about that. I have received hundreds and hundreds of messages in the past week about this thread and your comments. People are so incredibly frustrated. Something needs to be done on EA's part. I get that you can't do more, but somebody needs to do more.
I'm sorry, I've really truly had it with this discussion. I can see this is going nowhere. I've seen so many incredible, eloquent posts on this thread and it hasn't swayed you. I urge you to watch the video at the top of my website. I don't know what else to say.
I've watched the video on your website, which I might add doesn't really help prove your point when a good portion of it did read like a personal attack against myself rather than making a point towards your argument, but I watched it all the same and your responses indicate that you don't care to understand how a publicly traded company works nor care to understand the regulations we are under as being such.
I never said that you disagreeing with me means that your concerns are invalid (so please do not put statements where they don't belong) but I see a side to things that we've been trying to explain at length and in layman's terms that you just outright refuse to acknowledge and resort to personal attacks and saying we are making excuses.
The law is the law is the law is the law, no one in EA or Maxis is going to change that law simply because you want more answers than we can give you. No one person is the exception to that law and the regulations are in place for a reason.
Again: I'm not saying your concerns are invalid what I am saying is that all that can be said is what has already been said until we have more to tell you. Is that frustrating for you? Yes. Is that frustrating for me? Yes. Because I don't like having to constantly repeat myself over and over and over again but to say nothing reads to everyone that we don't care when in fact we do but have nothing else to say.
Saw in a couple of other threads that people are waiting for some type of response to this thread from @SimGuruDrake. Her last post was on 8/20, page 11 and the the thread is now 27 pages long so it may take her a while to catch up and prepare her response. She also said in another thread that managing these forums accounts for 5% of her job as community manager so I'm sure she other responsibilities to catch up on.
I thought she said that she was coming up on a Disney Land vacation. I took it to mean, however she phased it, that she meant the next day or day after and this was yesterday or the day before- in fact maybe it was the 21st. As such, she may not even see the notices requesting comment until she returns. At I hope she doesn't check in while she's off, she deserves a break!
EDIT: I didn't realize when I posted this how far along these posts had move- HA HA HA!- I see that SGDrake has commented numerous times now and is in fact not (quite yet) on vacation. Ha!
i feel bad for simgurrdrake with some of the peoples stubboness and i want i want i want attudes on here she will never get though to people it is after all the me me me generation talk about ungreatful
@simgurudrake I think it might be helpful if someone could tell us exactly what this law/regulation is that prevents you from talking about future content as I do not think many people on these forums even believe it exists. Many people think it is not an actual US law but an EA rule, and I have read that posters who know bits and bobs about the law have been unable to find this piece of legislation.
I think if people can see that this is indeed an actual US law, they will be more understanding, as no one would expect Maxis to break the law.
I'm not Drake (either of them! though I'm in the 6ix), but I did find the legal chain at one point:
The Securities Exchange Act (1934) give the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory power over publicly held companies in the U.S. The Securities Act (1933), the Trust Indenture Act (1939), the Investment Company Act (1940), the Investment Advisers Act (1940), and the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (2002) are among other laws that give specific regulatory powers to the SEC. Among the SEC's regulatory areas of control for public companies is the setting of accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards, which includes revenue recognition principles, some of the specifically targeted to software products. The generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are optional for private companies but are not optional for public companies, including EA.
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
@simgurudrake I think it might be helpful if someone could tell us exactly what this law/regulation is that prevents you from talking about future content as I do not think many people on these forums even believe it exists. Many people think it is not an actual US law but an EA rule, and I have read that posters who know bits and bobs about the law have been unable to find this piece of legislation.
I think if people can see that this is indeed an actual US law, they will be more understanding, as no one would expect Maxis to break the law.
@simgurudrake I think it might be helpful if someone could tell us exactly what this law/regulation is that prevents you from talking about future content as I do not think many people on these forums even believe it exists. Many people think it is not an actual US law but an EA rule, and I have read that posters who know bits and bobs about the law have been unable to find this piece of legislation.
I think if people can see that this is indeed an actual US law, they will be more understanding, as no one would expect Maxis to break the law.
Saw in a couple of other threads that people are waiting for some type of response to this thread from @SimGuruDrake. Her last post was on 8/20, page 11 and the the thread is now 27 pages long so it may take her a while to catch up and prepare her response. She also said in another thread that managing these forums accounts for 5% of her job as community manager so I'm sure she other responsibilities to catch up on.
I thought she said that she was coming up on a Disney Land vacation. I took it to mean, however she phased it, that she meant the next day or day after and this was yesterday or the day before- in fact maybe it was the 21st. As such, she may not even see the notices requesting comment until she returns. At I hope she doesn't check in while she's off, she deserves a break!
My vacation starts on Friday so I'm trying to catch up on a bunch of things before then (short week = busy time!) I just returned from Gamescom over the weekend and tend to not come post on the forums over the weekend
@SimGuruDrake I feel like you keep missing the point. We don't want excuses, we want answers. I understand that you can't give us the answers we want, but then can't you recognize that something is wrong with that? That is the issue, not us. Can't you go to EA and try to convince them to make a change in their policy instead of telling us to change our expectations over and over?
Fans aren't going to stop wanting to know what's going on in the game. No matter what you think, the expectation that we are supposed to be "patient" for two years about toddlers (for example) with no sign or word that we'll ever get them, is just not reasonable. You may disagree, but look around...it's not really an opinion. It's a fact that what's happening now isn't working. Look at how frustrated everyone is! That's all the evidence you need. No excuses will change that fact. No matter whose fault this is (yours, ours, Maxis, EA, Gurus...etc.), no matter what the reasons are, people are unhappy. Something needs to be done, something more significant than improving transparency.
And to be perfectly honest, I think it would be tremendously meaningful and impactful if EA admitted fault for once. I understand that you're trying to explain to us that things are complicated in game dev, but it just feels like you're shifting the blame on us. EA has never truly stepped forward and taken responsibility for the state of The Sims 4, and that fact has spawned a lot of anger from fans.
Fantastic post!
I said as much earlier in the thread. An acknowledgement and apology would go a long way, but it seems as though that concept falls on deaf ears or is plainly ignored.
At this point continuing to put forth a logical argument is meaningless and a waste of time. The responses that are being given are the same and are extremely rhetorical and repetitive.
I personally do enjoy TS4, albeit in small doses. So I can play it, but I do wish the game was meatier. I can delve further, but what would be the use?
It seems to me that as much as it may be frustrating and hurtful to those of us who are not entirely happy with the game at some point we have to either accept the status quo or move on. Two years in and not much of what many have wanted to either be improved or added has been.
I don't know, at some point you gotta throw in the towel. For many, they've gone the distance, the perverbial 15 rounds.
Simmers are pulling out. Some of these people who have left or are in the process of leaving have been dedicated and loyal to the franchise and Maxis/EA for over 16+ years. What does that say to you about how this game and the players are being handled? It says to me that something is incredibly wrong.
SimGuruDrake has stated over a dozen times WHY they cannot give us any other answers than the ones she has repeatedly given. Regardless of what you feel like we 'deserve' in regards to answers, we are not above the law. I personally would rather be in the dark than someone risk loosing their job. And even if they could outright say "we are looking into X" I can only imagine the type of badgering responses this would prompt, and it would probably cause even more hysteria with people saying "if they're only looking into it, it means they aren't coming ever/for years!"
No matter how many times you ask SimGuruDrake or anyone else, the answer is not going to change until they are able to give a different answer. And when this time comes, I am sure they will let us know without being prompted. So why not save yourself, Drake and everyone else who reads this thread the headache of covering the same ground.
Let's review the facts - what we know:
-Create-a-style and an Open world are the only two things confirmed to not return
-Toddlers, Create-a-neighbourhood, cars, pets and seasons have not been confirmed as impossible - so for all we know, they remain a possibility (meaning, there's a possibility they'll return, but also a possibility they won't)
-The Gurus will tell us when they have a definite answer, either way, on toddlers
-Anything not in the game is considered future content - meaning it's potential content we could get one day - so therefore it cannot be talked about yet
@simgurudrake I think it might be helpful if someone could tell us exactly what this law/regulation is that prevents you from talking about future content as I do not think many people on these forums even believe it exists. Many people think it is not an actual US law but an EA rule, and I have read that posters who know bits and bobs about the law have been unable to find this piece of legislation.
I think if people can see that this is indeed an actual US law, they will be more understanding, as no one would expect Maxis to break the law.
@SimGuruDrake Thank you, I have not seen that before. (I have no interest in reading it and my post was not an attempt at calling yours or any other Guru's integrity into doubt). I just thought that if the actual law is there for all to see (as you have just shown) none of us can complain about you not being able to talk about future content as we know you cannot break the law. It removes all blame from Maxis.
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
I'm not opposed to the Gurus coming in to chat about game development. They'd love to do that.
What I have a problem with is people running away with their comments to push a negative agenda instead of trying to learn about the thought processes and development processes that go into making any particular piece of content (free or paid). The issue is that when we say "can't comment on that" people should respect that and I don't want to have to police people (I really shouldn't have to) who repeatedly ask the same question they know we will give the same answer to. It also isn't their job to push through those types of comments either, their time is limited and shouldn't be spent having to repeatedly say "I can't comment on that because of XYZ".
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
I'm not opposed to the Gurus coming in to chat about game development. They'd love to do that.
What I have a problem with is people running away with their comments to push a negative agenda instead of trying to learn about the thought processes and development processes that go into making any particular piece of content (free or paid). The issue is that when we say "can't comment on that" people should respect that and I don't want to have to police people (I really shouldn't have to) who repeatedly ask the same question they know we will give the same answer to. It also isn't their job to push through those types of comments either, their time is limited and shouldn't be spent having to repeatedly say "I can't comment on that because of XYZ".
exactly why waste your time asking something they know you cant answer seems like a waste of time to me??
I'll admit that one of the main issues I had with the Sims team earlier this year was the lack of communication, which has been now resolved with the teasers, and the frequent communication as of late with the Gurus. I'm Ok everything now since they said they would start doing so, and they subsequently kept their word. So they've got my trust.
If the Gurus say they can't talk about future projects, I can and accept &/ respect that. They are not making excuses, it is what it is...
All I can do is look at all the hints they've given us since the beginning via the surveys, past incarnations of the game, hints given inside the game, and notice how more flushed out in conceptual design the Sims 4 products are in comparison to its past incarnations to know that this current game has great potential. I don't need their confirmation of future releases to let me know that this game will be great. I know it. I know it is also a waste of time to constantly ask them to give me answers that they can't give me atm. They still have a few years to release new products. I couldn't make snap judgements on the totality of all the releases from the sims 4 till I've seen it all, I can only base it upon what I've seen thus far and yes I do believe that they are not lazy. Their packs are improving over time and the packs, to me at least, have more quality vs quantity items and gameplay in them.
I KNEW that the toddlers weren't going to be in sims 4 when I bought it and that it might take a while to properly implement them and that it might even take years (more than 2 years after the initial release of this game, and maybe even more than that,) if they ever do. And if the toddlers never arrive, I believe that I still got my money's worth as a paying customer because again, I KNEW what I was buying. I am not going to complain about something I knew was missing in the product from the start and get mad at the said company because they couldn't make it or make it at the pace that I wanted, especially if that said missing item had to be custom made specifically for my purchase and this particular item was difficult to configure, which is why it was omitted in the first place. It's pointless. smh ...
Just wanted @SimGuruDrake that I get you, and as a forum member, I'm very willing to move forward and engage with everyone in a constructive manner. Or at least I hope I can LOL!... I'll try.
BTW, I'm a little jealous of that Disneyland trip you're going to take! The food there is soooo good! Enjoy the food for me please !
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
I'm not opposed to the Gurus coming in to chat about game development. They'd love to do that.
What I have a problem with is people running away with their comments to push a negative agenda instead of trying to learn about the thought processes and development processes that go into making any particular piece of content (free or paid). The issue is that when we say "can't comment on that" people should respect that and I don't want to have to police people (I really shouldn't have to) who repeatedly ask the same question they know we will give the same answer to. It also isn't their job to push through those types of comments either, their time is limited and shouldn't be spent having to repeatedly say "I can't comment on that because of XYZ".
Is this why the ask a guru sessions were cancelled? Because I joined in a couple of times and did notice what you speak of. In that regard, yes, I can see how annoying and frustrating that would be. It was frustrating for me to witness.
Although I have my issues with this whole situation. I'd be extremely interested in the gurus discussing game development and what it entails. I would find it enlightening and fun.
Perhaps to prevent the same situation happening, what if you set something up were simmers could submit questions regarding the topic of choice before the discussion, and then have the gurus talk / discuss that. It would be more of a closed session, but us regular folk could either watch it via twitch or the forums. Not sure what it would entail to do it though.
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
I'm not opposed to the Gurus coming in to chat about game development. They'd love to do that.
What I have a problem with is people running away with their comments to push a negative agenda instead of trying to learn about the thought processes and development processes that go into making any particular piece of content (free or paid). The issue is that when we say "can't comment on that" people should respect that and I don't want to have to police people (I really shouldn't have to) who repeatedly ask the same question they know we will give the same answer to. It also isn't their job to push through those types of comments either, their time is limited and shouldn't be spent having to repeatedly say "I can't comment on that because of XYZ".
exactly why waste your time asking something they know you cant answer seems like a waste of time to me??
There are many areas they can discuss and many simmers I'm sure that would love to find out more about the game play in certain areas. I guess for me, I have understood how the laws and regulations of working for a publicly traded company work and so while I still want more information, I do understand why, for certain topics, this is not going to happen.
I'd like to move on and talk about areas of the game I enjoy and having the gurus input on that discussion would be fun imo.
I'm a girl who likes to play with boys, what can I say...
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
Saw in a couple of other threads that people are waiting for some type of response to this thread from @SimGuruDrake. Her last post was on 8/20, page 11 and the the thread is now 27 pages long so it may take her a while to catch up and prepare her response. She also said in another thread that managing these forums accounts for 5% of her job as community manager so I'm sure she other responsibilities to catch up on.
I thought she said that she was coming up on a Disney Land vacation. I took it to mean, however she phased it, that she meant the next day or day after and this was yesterday or the day before- in fact maybe it was the 21st. As such, she may not even see the notices requesting comment until she returns. At I hope she doesn't check in while she's off, she deserves a break!
My vacation starts on Friday so I'm trying to catch up on a bunch of things before then (short week = busy time!) I just returned from Gamescom over the weekend and tend to not come post on the forums over the weekend
LOL! I know that now- ha ha ha! I didn't realize how far and how fast the posts had traveled when I wrote it. In fact shortly thereafter I started reading your replies- lol.
I'll admit that one of the main issues I had with the Sims team earlier this year was the lack of communication, which has been now resolved with the teasers, and the frequent communication as of late with the Gurus. I'm Ok everything now since they said they would start doing so, and they subsequently kept their word. So they've got my trust.
If the Gurus say they can't talk about future projects, I can and accept &/ respect that. They are not making excuses, it is what it is...
All I can do is look at all the hints they've given us since the beginning via the surveys, past incarnations of the game, hints given inside the game, and notice how more flushed out in conceptual design the Sims 4 products are in comparison to its past incarnations to know that this current game has great potential. I don't need their confirmation of future releases to let me know that this game will be great. I know it. I know it is also a waste of time to constantly ask them to give me answers that they can't give me atm. They still have a few years to release new products. I couldn't make snap judgements on the totality of all the releases from the sims 4 till I've seen it all, I can only base it upon what I've seen thus far and yes I do believe that they are not lazy. Their packs are improving over time and the packs, to me at least, have more quality vs quantity items and gameplay in them.
I KNEW that the toddlers weren't going to be in sims 4 when I bought it and that it might take a while to properly implement them and that it might even take years (more than 2 years after the initial release of this game, and maybe even more than that,) if they ever do. And if the toddlers never arrive, I believe that I still got my money's worth as a paying customer because again, I KNEW what I was buying. I am not going to complain about something I knew was missing in the product from the start and get mad at the said company because they couldn't make it or make it at the pace that I wanted, especially if that said missing item had to be custom made specifically for my purchase and this particular item was difficult to configure, which is why it was omitted in the first place. It's pointless. smh ...
Just wanted @SimGuruDrake that I get you, and as a forum member, I'm very willing to move forward and engage with everyone in a constructive manner. Or at least I hope I can LOL!... I'll try.
BTW, I'm a little jealous of that Disneyland trip you're going to take! The food there is soooo good! Enjoy the food for me please !
100% agree i have said before i dont play sims 4 much if at all because i play sims 3 but does that mean i hate sims 4? no as you said we all knew the sims 4 wouldnt have toddlers so why have people been so upset??
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
I'm not opposed to the Gurus coming in to chat about game development. They'd love to do that.
What I have a problem with is people running away with their comments to push a negative agenda instead of trying to learn about the thought processes and development processes that go into making any particular piece of content (free or paid). The issue is that when we say "can't comment on that" people should respect that and I don't want to have to police people (I really shouldn't have to) who repeatedly ask the same question they know we will give the same answer to. It also isn't their job to push through those types of comments either, their time is limited and shouldn't be spent having to repeatedly say "I can't comment on that because of XYZ".
Is this why the ask a guru sessions were cancelled? Because I joined in a couple of times and did notice what you speak of. In that regard, yes, I can see how annoying and frustrating that would be. It was frustrating for me to witness.
Although I have my issues with this whole situation. I'd be extremely interested in the gurus discussing game development and what it entails. I would find it enlightening and fun.
Perhaps to prevent the same situation happening, what if you set something up were simmers could submit questions regarding the topic of choice before the discussion, and then have the gurus talk / discuss that. It would be more of a closed session, but us regular folk could either watch it via twitch or the forums. Not sure what it would entail to do it though.
I think that would be a good idea.
I'm a girl who likes to play with boys, what can I say...
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
@SimGuruDrake I think I've seen this mentioned before, but one thing I would enjoy seeing would be a blog post by the Producer's on the production of a pack (I think the bigger packs like EPs/GPs would be the most interesting). They could give us a loose timeline on the processes; ie. a theme is chosen, thinking up the features, actually developing and programming it, getting it ready for launch, etc. And they could talk about the difficulties they faced making it, such as what took longer to make, what maybe they needed to return to, balancing new ideas and fan favourites, and Easter eggs they slipped in (I don't mean hints, but like nods to Simlore such as gnomes, freezer bunny).
I do appreciate the Live Streams you organised for new packs, and I know they're a priority so Simmers can see what's included. But a deeper look at the "backstage" would be fascinating to me also!
I know a lot of people would appreciate Devs coming in to talk and answering questions, but like has already been discussed there are many issues that occur with this. With devs having a limited time, having something like a blog post might be manageable to squeeze into their schedule.
I truly do not believe the issues of communication being seen here are because upset Simmers are not listening or willing to listen to what is being said. It seems more like they are tired of hearing the same words over and over again. Words which have no real meaning to them - just empty placeholders (if you will).
Unfortunately, you are caught in the middle of this mess by being a representative of the company. At this point in time, Simmers are owed an explanation of Why they have had to wait this long to hear any useful news about a game they have invested time and money in. No matter how it is looked upon, from a personal view or a business perspective, what is happening here is simply not right.
Can communications be mended. Absolutely. However, they can not even begin to be repaired if the first words out of Official Mouths is "I Can't Talk About It".
**I'm curious, what Can be discussed which would be of interest to the upset player, which would not jeopardize your job or have anyone involved breaking the law?
Simmers aren't owed anything outside of the physical or figurative (if from Origin) box we paid for. I, as a Simmer, am not owed an EP03, for example, let alone pre-knowledge on what that EP03 may be. I'm not owed anything beyond what I currently paid for. Neither is anyone else.
By purchasing Sims 4, you are not owed anything on Sims 8, for example. This "owed" mentality doesn't exist beyond the current purchased product, and only then it extends to whatever the terms of service or whatever promises. You can say if you have a bug in the game, you may be "owed" a fix, work-around, or at least some technical support help of some kind, even if it can't get fixed. But that's about as far as it goes.
Comments
I've watched the video on your website, which I might add doesn't really help prove your point when a good portion of it did read like a personal attack against myself rather than making a point towards your argument, but I watched it all the same and your responses indicate that you don't care to understand how a publicly traded company works nor care to understand the regulations we are under as being such.
I never said that you disagreeing with me means that your concerns are invalid (so please do not put statements where they don't belong) but I see a side to things that we've been trying to explain at length and in layman's terms that you just outright refuse to acknowledge and resort to personal attacks and saying we are making excuses.
The law is the law is the law is the law, no one in EA or Maxis is going to change that law simply because you want more answers than we can give you. No one person is the exception to that law and the regulations are in place for a reason.
Again: I'm not saying your concerns are invalid what I am saying is that all that can be said is what has already been said until we have more to tell you. Is that frustrating for you? Yes. Is that frustrating for me? Yes. Because I don't like having to constantly repeat myself over and over and over again but to say nothing reads to everyone that we don't care when in fact we do but have nothing else to say.
I thought she said that she was coming up on a Disney Land vacation. I took it to mean, however she phased it, that she meant the next day or day after and this was yesterday or the day before- in fact maybe it was the 21st. As such, she may not even see the notices requesting comment until she returns. At I hope she doesn't check in while she's off, she deserves a break!
EDIT: I didn't realize when I posted this how far along these posts had move- HA HA HA!- I see that SGDrake has commented numerous times now and is in fact not (quite yet) on vacation. Ha!
I'm not Drake (either of them! though I'm in the 6ix), but I did find the legal chain at one point:
@SimGuruGraham and myself have explained this multiple times at this point but if you'd like to read it for yourself he linked to the 300 page documentation on this: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/15115668/#Comment_15115668
you dont have to justify yourself people are not accepting what you are saying it is sorta like a child having a meltdown
My vacation starts on Friday so I'm trying to catch up on a bunch of things before then (short week = busy time!) I just returned from Gamescom over the weekend and tend to not come post on the forums over the weekend
Fantastic post!
I said as much earlier in the thread. An acknowledgement and apology would go a long way, but it seems as though that concept falls on deaf ears or is plainly ignored.
At this point continuing to put forth a logical argument is meaningless and a waste of time. The responses that are being given are the same and are extremely rhetorical and repetitive.
I personally do enjoy TS4, albeit in small doses. So I can play it, but I do wish the game was meatier. I can delve further, but what would be the use?
It seems to me that as much as it may be frustrating and hurtful to those of us who are not entirely happy with the game at some point we have to either accept the status quo or move on. Two years in and not much of what many have wanted to either be improved or added has been.
I don't know, at some point you gotta throw in the towel. For many, they've gone the distance, the perverbial 15 rounds.
Edit for grammar.
SimGuruDrake has stated over a dozen times WHY they cannot give us any other answers than the ones she has repeatedly given. Regardless of what you feel like we 'deserve' in regards to answers, we are not above the law. I personally would rather be in the dark than someone risk loosing their job. And even if they could outright say "we are looking into X" I can only imagine the type of badgering responses this would prompt, and it would probably cause even more hysteria with people saying "if they're only looking into it, it means they aren't coming ever/for years!"
No matter how many times you ask SimGuruDrake or anyone else, the answer is not going to change until they are able to give a different answer. And when this time comes, I am sure they will let us know without being prompted. So why not save yourself, Drake and everyone else who reads this thread the headache of covering the same ground.
Let's review the facts - what we know:
-Create-a-style and an Open world are the only two things confirmed to not return
-Toddlers, Create-a-neighbourhood, cars, pets and seasons have not been confirmed as impossible - so for all we know, they remain a possibility (meaning, there's a possibility they'll return, but also a possibility they won't)
-The Gurus will tell us when they have a definite answer, either way, on toddlers
-Anything not in the game is considered future content - meaning it's potential content we could get one day - so therefore it cannot be talked about yet
@SimGuruDrake Thank you, I have not seen that before. (I have no interest in reading it and my post was not an attempt at calling yours or any other Guru's integrity into doubt). I just thought that if the actual law is there for all to see (as you have just shown) none of us can complain about you not being able to talk about future content as we know you cannot break the law. It removes all blame from Maxis.
In the interests of trying to heal the forums, would it perhaps be helpful if some of the Gurus could come to the forums to discuss development etc knowing that there will more than likely be negativity from some, questions that can't be answered etc but just continuing to be here anyway? It's only my opinion but I think we've reached a point where sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and plow through until the answers that can be given are heard and acknowledged.
I totally understand your desire to shield the other gurus from the more unpleasant side of the forums but talking (for me anyway) always helps. Continue talking, even if the answer is "sorry, that comes under future content and I just can't talk about that". I have the impression that a lot of Simmers feel that Maxis is just unwilling to have conversations, real meaningful conversations with us. That may in part, be why Gurus are inundated with responses when they do come here, it feels so rare that people want to get their two cents in with the hope of being answered.
At the moment, it's mainly yourself that's here and while that's part of your job, it's not just you that needs to be talking.
I'm not opposed to the Gurus coming in to chat about game development. They'd love to do that.
What I have a problem with is people running away with their comments to push a negative agenda instead of trying to learn about the thought processes and development processes that go into making any particular piece of content (free or paid). The issue is that when we say "can't comment on that" people should respect that and I don't want to have to police people (I really shouldn't have to) who repeatedly ask the same question they know we will give the same answer to. It also isn't their job to push through those types of comments either, their time is limited and shouldn't be spent having to repeatedly say "I can't comment on that because of XYZ".
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
exactly why waste your time asking something they know you cant answer seems like a waste of time to me??
If the Gurus say they can't talk about future projects, I can and accept &/ respect that. They are not making excuses, it is what it is...
All I can do is look at all the hints they've given us since the beginning via the surveys, past incarnations of the game, hints given inside the game, and notice how more flushed out in conceptual design the Sims 4 products are in comparison to its past incarnations to know that this current game has great potential. I don't need their confirmation of future releases to let me know that this game will be great. I know it. I know it is also a waste of time to constantly ask them to give me answers that they can't give me atm. They still have a few years to release new products. I couldn't make snap judgements on the totality of all the releases from the sims 4 till I've seen it all, I can only base it upon what I've seen thus far and yes I do believe that they are not lazy. Their packs are improving over time and the packs, to me at least, have more quality vs quantity items and gameplay in them.
I KNEW that the toddlers weren't going to be in sims 4 when I bought it and that it might take a while to properly implement them and that it might even take years (more than 2 years after the initial release of this game, and maybe even more than that,) if they ever do. And if the toddlers never arrive, I believe that I still got my money's worth as a paying customer because again, I KNEW what I was buying. I am not going to complain about something I knew was missing in the product from the start and get mad at the said company because they couldn't make it or make it at the pace that I wanted, especially if that said missing item had to be custom made specifically for my purchase and this particular item was difficult to configure, which is why it was omitted in the first place. It's pointless. smh ...
Just wanted @SimGuruDrake that I get you, and as a forum member, I'm very willing to move forward and engage with everyone in a constructive manner. Or at least I hope I can LOL!... I'll try.
BTW, I'm a little jealous of that Disneyland trip you're going to take! The food there is soooo good! Enjoy the food for me please
Is this why the ask a guru sessions were cancelled? Because I joined in a couple of times and did notice what you speak of. In that regard, yes, I can see how annoying and frustrating that would be. It was frustrating for me to witness.
Although I have my issues with this whole situation. I'd be extremely interested in the gurus discussing game development and what it entails. I would find it enlightening and fun.
Perhaps to prevent the same situation happening, what if you set something up were simmers could submit questions regarding the topic of choice before the discussion, and then have the gurus talk / discuss that. It would be more of a closed session, but us regular folk could either watch it via twitch or the forums. Not sure what it would entail to do it though.
There are many areas they can discuss and many simmers I'm sure that would love to find out more about the game play in certain areas. I guess for me, I have understood how the laws and regulations of working for a publicly traded company work and so while I still want more information, I do understand why, for certain topics, this is not going to happen.
I'd like to move on and talk about areas of the game I enjoy and having the gurus input on that discussion would be fun imo.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
LOL! I know that now- ha ha ha! I didn't realize how far and how fast the posts had traveled when I wrote it. In fact shortly thereafter I started reading your replies- lol.
100% agree i have said before i dont play sims 4 much if at all because i play sims 3 but does that mean i hate sims 4? no as you said we all knew the sims 4 wouldnt have toddlers so why have people been so upset??
I think that would be a good idea.
“Instead of putting players in the role of Luke Skywalker, or Frodo Baggins, I'd rather put them in the role of George Lucas.”Will Wright.
I do appreciate the Live Streams you organised for new packs, and I know they're a priority so Simmers can see what's included. But a deeper look at the "backstage" would be fascinating to me also!
I know a lot of people would appreciate Devs coming in to talk and answering questions, but like has already been discussed there are many issues that occur with this. With devs having a limited time, having something like a blog post might be manageable to squeeze into their schedule.
Simmers aren't owed anything outside of the physical or figurative (if from Origin) box we paid for. I, as a Simmer, am not owed an EP03, for example, let alone pre-knowledge on what that EP03 may be. I'm not owed anything beyond what I currently paid for. Neither is anyone else.
By purchasing Sims 4, you are not owed anything on Sims 8, for example. This "owed" mentality doesn't exist beyond the current purchased product, and only then it extends to whatever the terms of service or whatever promises. You can say if you have a bug in the game, you may be "owed" a fix, work-around, or at least some technical support help of some kind, even if it can't get fixed. But that's about as far as it goes.