Lol this is ridiculous. Hopefully the Sims 5 won't be this slow on content. But then again, there will also be that other game which begins with P if it is.
They said that the kits were not the reason why so few packs were being released. I don't believe that for a second.
I think you have that backward, personally. They're stuck on something tying up the packs, so the artists are being kept busy making kits while the developers and coders work it out.
Name one industry, one workplace that hasn't been affected. Every workplace has been short-staffed, and those who show up are overworked. Shelves at the grocery store are empty. There are shortages on everything.
But yes, EA is completely unaffected and it's business as usual over there!
Of course they're going to pivot to something like kits. They're comparatively simple to make, and keeps a revenue stream coming in while they deal with the massive delays to larger projects.
Kits haven't interrupted the release of packs, covid did. Why do we keep acting like the Sims team lives in a bubble?
Name one industry, one workplace that hasn't been affected. Every workplace has been short-staffed, and those who show up are overworked. Shelves at the grocery store are empty. There are shortages on everything.
But yes, EA is completely unaffected and it's business as usual over there!
Of course they're going to pivot to something like kits. They're comparatively simple to make, and keeps a revenue stream coming in while they deal with the massive delays to larger projects.
Kits haven't interrupted the release of packs, covid did. Why do we keep acting like the Sims team lives in a bubble?
My workload actually increased during the pandemic, I wasn't delivering less. And I don't think that the food, manufacturing and agricultural industries (which require key workers who are unable to WFH) compare with gaming and entertainment.
If the pandemic is slowing them down, they could at least let us know that that is the case. They are also overcharging for the kits, which have barely any content.
Besides COVID I'm pretty sure last I check they're still doing remote stuff at home? (correct me if I'm wrong)
I assume that's why we're mainly getting small packs atm, I'm sure there's some big projects on the horizon but it's probably on hold or in the background for now
Besides COVID I'm pretty sure last I check they're still doing remote stuff at home? (correct me if I'm wrong)
I assume that's why we're mainly getting small packs atm, I'm sure there's some big projects on the horizon but it's probably on hold or in the background for now
The Sims 4 has been going on for too long. If they have some big project coming up within the next two years or so, it would be better if they just released the Sims 5. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, we were getting more content in 2020 before kits became a thing. Only one EP was released last year.
Name one industry, one workplace that hasn't been affected. Every workplace has been short-staffed, and those who show up are overworked. Shelves at the grocery store are empty. There are shortages on everything.
But yes, EA is completely unaffected and it's business as usual over there!
Of course they're going to pivot to something like kits. They're comparatively simple to make, and keeps a revenue stream coming in while they deal with the massive delays to larger projects.
Kits haven't interrupted the release of packs, covid did. Why do we keep acting like the Sims team lives in a bubble?
Uummm... I work in product development (of a different kind) and despite the pandemic, being understaffed and being affected by global lockdowns and raw material shortage, we keep developing and producing more and more while shortening lead-time significantly. I am no expert when it comes to developing games, but I cannot imagine that the pandemic and home office specifically will slow down game development so significantly. I think something else is up.
Name one industry, one workplace that hasn't been affected. Every workplace has been short-staffed, and those who show up are overworked. Shelves at the grocery store are empty. There are shortages on everything.
But yes, EA is completely unaffected and it's business as usual over there!
Of course they're going to pivot to something like kits. They're comparatively simple to make, and keeps a revenue stream coming in while they deal with the massive delays to larger projects.
Kits haven't interrupted the release of packs, covid did. Why do we keep acting like the Sims team lives in a bubble?
Uummm... I work in product development (of a different kind) and despite the pandemic, being understaffed and being affected by global lockdowns and raw material shortage, we keep developing and producing more and more while shortening lead-time significantly. I am no expert when it comes to developing games, but I cannot imagine that the pandemic and home office specifically will slow down game development so significantly. I think something else is up.
I've been working on development of a new program (I'm the end-user representative on the team), and I don't think working remotely or staff shortages have been a problem. However, our program has a very basic UI - you don't need dancing bunnies to rate an insurance policy. (Darn. We should have included that in the requirements. Bunnies make everything better.) I would imagine that those who work with the graphics and animations need more powerful equipment. So, that could be an issue.
I'm more convinced that it's development of S5 that is taking resources from S4, in any case.
I would imagine that those who work with the graphics and animations need more powerful equipment. So, that could be an issue.
That makes sense. I also have colleagues who need more powerful equipment, therefore can never work from home. And for the rest of us, we do home office partially because our work involves the development of physical products which requires our presence at least half of the time. Since some of my work is challenging to do from home, the consequence is to work from home less, not to work less in general (which is implied by some people on here may be the case with EA/Maxis). Therefore, I also think TS4 is being phased out.
Name one industry, one workplace that hasn't been affected. Every workplace has been short-staffed, and those who show up are overworked. Shelves at the grocery store are empty. There are shortages on everything.
But yes, EA is completely unaffected and it's business as usual over there!
Of course they're going to pivot to something like kits. They're comparatively simple to make, and keeps a revenue stream coming in while they deal with the massive delays to larger projects.
Kits haven't interrupted the release of packs, covid did. Why do we keep acting like the Sims team lives in a bubble?
Uummm... I work in product development (of a different kind) and despite the pandemic, being understaffed and being affected by global lockdowns and raw material shortage, we keep developing and producing more and more while shortening lead-time significantly. I am no expert when it comes to developing games, but I cannot imagine that the pandemic and home office specifically will slow down game development so significantly. I think something else is up.
In a video from Tom Henderson, he said that when DICE were working on Battlefield 2042, working from home made development much slower because their builds changed daily and they had to download a new build of the game every day (which could take several hours because they had VPN and wireless internet and not their company network with good connection to their servers).
Something that also made it very difficult was that the game needed to be multiplatform, and not everyone had dev consoles at home. So they had to try and organize testing back and forth, which took a lot of time.
I'm not sure if Maxis are having similar problems, their game is 7 years old, and they should have routines in place in order to make packs. Maybe this is causing problems for them if they are working on the sims5, and development for the sims4 is slowed down because of it.
What I don't like and don't fully understand is their direction that they have chosen with their kits though, one would think that they would try and deliver a similar live service despite the problems as well as they can and try and keep their fan base happy while development is slowed down.
Instead it feels like they doubled down on this new shift, and did not release a few kits here and there. They are mass producing kits now which are dividing a fanbase that has been with them for several years already and are starting to wonder when the more requested things are coming.
Lol this is ridiculous. Hopefully the Sims 5 won't be this slow on content. But then again, there will also be that other game which begins with P if it is.
You have the kits and that is one way EA/Maxis can extend Sims 4, the timing for packs has changed.
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Lol this is ridiculous. Hopefully the Sims 5 won't be this slow on content. But then again, there will also be that other game which begins with P if it is.
You have the kits and that is one way EA/Maxis can extend Sims 4, the timing for packs has changed.
Haven't bought any of the kits. Not interested in them. Also, the Sims 4 dragging out isn't actually a good thing.
I wonder if they’re focusing on kits (to make quick little spurts of money in the meantime) because they are starting to develop Sims 5? It does feel like it’s winding down a bit, with packs being so slow at this rate.
(I mean, as a fan of Sims 4, I wouldn’t mind another year or two of Sims 4, but I’m also ready for whenever Sims 5 shows up as well.)
I wonder if they’re focusing on kits (to make quick little spurts of money in the meantime) because they are starting to develop Sims 5? It does feel like it’s winding down a bit, with packs being so slow at this rate.
(I mean, as a fan of Sims 4, I wouldn’t mind another year or two of Sims 4, but I’m also ready for whenever Sims 5 shows up as well.)
I hope it's because they are getting ready to release TS5. What I find surprising is that TS4 has been around for nearly a decade, and still has less gameplay content than TS2 and TS3 had in half of that time.
Lol this is ridiculous. Hopefully the Sims 5 won't be this slow on content. But then again, there will also be that other game which begins with P if it is.
You...do know it'll more or less be the same people working on that game, right?
Don't think pumping out packs is going to be anymore consistent than it is now. Can't say I care about buying another EP, as they're free to use that time to be working on core gameplay features and base game, plus pack refreshes that need it along with bug fixes. If that's the case then that's fine by me.
Don't really want another whole pack when other things are in dire need of attention.
Always up for more simulation games (though at this time the interest for the genre for me is dying out), but that game is no where close to being done and I'm not excited since I've seen little to know gameplay for it. Thus far a building and character creation simulator thus far.
I believe Sims 5 is slowing down the development of Sims 4 and Sims 5 isn't as far as it should be right now. I expected the Sims 5 to be released this year and for some reason this doesn't happen. So they are desparatly looking for content to satisfy the simmers.
The pandemic might slow down the development a little bit but not so much.
I really would like to know the reason for all this. I accept a good explanation. Saying nothing feels not good.
Do you think it would have been good to drag TS2 and TS3 out for nearly a decade rather than giving us newer versions of the game?
As a matter of fact, I do. I still play both TS2 and TS3 as well and would love if there had been even more official content for them. Personally, I'd love if they continued the development of each Sims game's content for several years even AFTER the next version comes out, because there has yet to be a Sims game worth playing until a few years after it is released, when there are some solid EPs and GPs for it as well.
Additionally, with all of the issues TS3 had, especially performance-wise, we'd probably have gotten a much better TS3 if they'd taken more time developing it and continued content for TS2 longer while working on TS3 in order to have steady income.
The same can be said about longer development for TS4 so that some of the core game mechanics could have been in at launch.
The community that has been "in a hurry" for the next Sims game to be released due to shortcomings in the current iteration are generally the same people that end up complaining the loudest about the shortcomings of what comes next, from what I've seen in these forums. You'd think after 3 sequels you'd all have learned better.
I would have loved it if they had stretched out TS2 for longer. This game is awesome and if it hadn't been for TS4 and my computer no longer wanting to run TS2, I would not have moved on to TS4.
Stretching out TS3 more would also have been an excellent idea as we wouldn't have gotten TS4 as an unfinished project if they hadn't released it so soon after the SimCity desaster.
Anyhow, what I would not have loved and will not love is stretching out any Sims game to cover players in kits with no new gameplay and replace proper patches with bug fixes by the SimsDeliveryExpress. I don't like the direction they are heading atm, but I'm still holding up hope for the next proper packs to bring some long awaited gameplay.
Post edited by 83bienchen on
Now now EA, don't be stinking up our lovely lavender bath with your shopping fart. - My TS4 mods - Gallery ID: 83bienchen
I only stopped playing TS2 when my old computer couldn't handle it anymore. I like TS4 and am not interested in TS5. I wouldn't be tempted to buy it for at least several years after launch. It would be too frustrating to go from all the content we have with 4 and go back to a plain base game.
I only stopped playing TS2 when my old computer couldn't handle it anymore. I like TS4 and am not interested in TS5. I wouldn't be tempted to buy it for at least several years after launch. It would be too frustrating to go from all the content we have with 4 and go back to a plain base game.
I feel the opposite... I can feel how part of my brain wants something new because the sims4 is still the same game no matter how much more content they will add to it. A new game will feel different and it doesn't matter if I have to buy packs for it again. What's the difference from buying another pack for The Sims4?
Comments
Yes. Cottage Living July 22, 2021.
😔😔
They said that the kits were not the reason why so few packs were being released. I don't believe that for a second.
I think you have that backward, personally. They're stuck on something tying up the packs, so the artists are being kept busy making kits while the developers and coders work it out.
Name one industry, one workplace that hasn't been affected. Every workplace has been short-staffed, and those who show up are overworked. Shelves at the grocery store are empty. There are shortages on everything.
But yes, EA is completely unaffected and it's business as usual over there!
Of course they're going to pivot to something like kits. They're comparatively simple to make, and keeps a revenue stream coming in while they deal with the massive delays to larger projects.
Kits haven't interrupted the release of packs, covid did. Why do we keep acting like the Sims team lives in a bubble?
My workload actually increased during the pandemic, I wasn't delivering less. And I don't think that the food, manufacturing and agricultural industries (which require key workers who are unable to WFH) compare with gaming and entertainment.
If the pandemic is slowing them down, they could at least let us know that that is the case. They are also overcharging for the kits, which have barely any content.
I assume that's why we're mainly getting small packs atm, I'm sure there's some big projects on the horizon but it's probably on hold or in the background for now
The Sims 4 has been going on for too long. If they have some big project coming up within the next two years or so, it would be better if they just released the Sims 5. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, we were getting more content in 2020 before kits became a thing. Only one EP was released last year.
Uummm... I work in product development (of a different kind) and despite the pandemic, being understaffed and being affected by global lockdowns and raw material shortage, we keep developing and producing more and more while shortening lead-time significantly. I am no expert when it comes to developing games, but I cannot imagine that the pandemic and home office specifically will slow down game development so significantly. I think something else is up.
Personality,depth,humor,consequences,lore,customization.
I've been working on development of a new program (I'm the end-user representative on the team), and I don't think working remotely or staff shortages have been a problem. However, our program has a very basic UI - you don't need dancing bunnies to rate an insurance policy. (Darn. We should have included that in the requirements. Bunnies make everything better.) I would imagine that those who work with the graphics and animations need more powerful equipment. So, that could be an issue.
I'm more convinced that it's development of S5 that is taking resources from S4, in any case.
That makes sense. I also have colleagues who need more powerful equipment, therefore can never work from home. And for the rest of us, we do home office partially because our work involves the development of physical products which requires our presence at least half of the time. Since some of my work is challenging to do from home, the consequence is to work from home less, not to work less in general (which is implied by some people on here may be the case with EA/Maxis). Therefore, I also think TS4 is being phased out.
In a video from Tom Henderson, he said that when DICE were working on Battlefield 2042, working from home made development much slower because their builds changed daily and they had to download a new build of the game every day (which could take several hours because they had VPN and wireless internet and not their company network with good connection to their servers).
Something that also made it very difficult was that the game needed to be multiplatform, and not everyone had dev consoles at home. So they had to try and organize testing back and forth, which took a lot of time.
I'm not sure if Maxis are having similar problems, their game is 7 years old, and they should have routines in place in order to make packs. Maybe this is causing problems for them if they are working on the sims5, and development for the sims4 is slowed down because of it.
What I don't like and don't fully understand is their direction that they have chosen with their kits though, one would think that they would try and deliver a similar live service despite the problems as well as they can and try and keep their fan base happy while development is slowed down.
Instead it feels like they doubled down on this new shift, and did not release a few kits here and there. They are mass producing kits now which are dividing a fanbase that has been with them for several years already and are starting to wonder when the more requested things are coming.
You have the kits and that is one way EA/Maxis can extend Sims 4, the timing for packs has changed.
Haven't bought any of the kits. Not interested in them. Also, the Sims 4 dragging out isn't actually a good thing.
It is for the people that still enjoy it and for those who have liked some of the kits.
Your unhappiness is not a reflection of the entire world.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
(I mean, as a fan of Sims 4, I wouldn’t mind another year or two of Sims 4, but I’m also ready for whenever Sims 5 shows up as well.)
(She/her)
Do you think it would have been good to drag TS2 and TS3 out for nearly a decade rather than giving us newer versions of the game?
I hope it's because they are getting ready to release TS5. What I find surprising is that TS4 has been around for nearly a decade, and still has less gameplay content than TS2 and TS3 had in half of that time.
You...do know it'll more or less be the same people working on that game, right?
Don't think pumping out packs is going to be anymore consistent than it is now. Can't say I care about buying another EP, as they're free to use that time to be working on core gameplay features and base game, plus pack refreshes that need it along with bug fixes. If that's the case then that's fine by me.
Don't really want another whole pack when other things are in dire need of attention.
Always up for more simulation games (though at this time the interest for the genre for me is dying out), but that game is no where close to being done and I'm not excited since I've seen little to know gameplay for it. Thus far a building and character creation simulator thus far.
The pandemic might slow down the development a little bit but not so much.
I really would like to know the reason for all this. I accept a good explanation. Saying nothing feels not good.
As a matter of fact, I do. I still play both TS2 and TS3 as well and would love if there had been even more official content for them. Personally, I'd love if they continued the development of each Sims game's content for several years even AFTER the next version comes out, because there has yet to be a Sims game worth playing until a few years after it is released, when there are some solid EPs and GPs for it as well.
Additionally, with all of the issues TS3 had, especially performance-wise, we'd probably have gotten a much better TS3 if they'd taken more time developing it and continued content for TS2 longer while working on TS3 in order to have steady income.
The same can be said about longer development for TS4 so that some of the core game mechanics could have been in at launch.
The community that has been "in a hurry" for the next Sims game to be released due to shortcomings in the current iteration are generally the same people that end up complaining the loudest about the shortcomings of what comes next, from what I've seen in these forums. You'd think after 3 sequels you'd all have learned better.
The Winters family Tree --- My Mods
Stretching out TS3 more would also have been an excellent idea as we wouldn't have gotten TS4 as an unfinished project if they hadn't released it so soon after the SimCity desaster.
Anyhow, what I would not have loved and will not love is stretching out any Sims game to cover players in kits with no new gameplay and replace proper patches with bug fixes by the SimsDeliveryExpress. I don't like the direction they are heading atm, but I'm still holding up hope for the next proper packs to bring some long awaited gameplay.
I feel the opposite... I can feel how part of my brain wants something new because the sims4 is still the same game no matter how much more content they will add to it. A new game will feel different and it doesn't matter if I have to buy packs for it again. What's the difference from buying another pack for The Sims4?