You speak the truth, it will be worst than Sims4, because EA never listens to the fans, one of these days all of us will leave in droves. Hopefully
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You speak the truth, it will be worst than Sims4, because EA never listens to the fans, one of these days all of us will leave in droves. Hopefully
That is assuming EA will never change its approach it currently takes with the customers. Which is, of course, unlikely to change in near future.
Personally, I think EA has become a somewhat soulless company since it grew up from its humble origins and started recruiting CEOs that aren't as intimate with gaming and who are more concerned with maximizing shareholder values in the short-term, even if such approach is a sure way to anger the fans.
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Let's forget about EA for a second
and think about the genre in itself.
The Sims is not the first life-simulation game, but certainly the most popular up until today (mostly because the competition died in the great simulatior crash long time ago).
This specific title profitted from its richness of content surrounding playing with the every-day life of your character(s).
You can create your own story, shape your own destiny, fool around and spend hours over hours just with the building system.
Keeping the strengths in mind, I believe a game of the same genre should represent these strengths aswell:
There should be an equally strong building system.
Since the competition is extremely strong in this one, I suggest not to drop the ball here.
Make a building system with a new approach or take them head on by making a similar system. In any case it shouldn't lack depth.
When it comes to the game mechanics surrounding the characters themselves, I believe there are many ways to create a very unique approach to the genre.
It could range from a pure single-character gameplay experience that has more depth to it and enhanced online-functionality (like actual multi-player), over to a fully indirect control of multiple characters. It could even be a game'ified Second-Life.
What you should keep in mind is that this is more than just a simulation. It's also a subtle form of RPG. The Sims may not have a classic RPG dialogue system, but everything else about character interaction screams "RPG".
One part will be that there has to be a challenge to the every-day life.
A second part will be that there has to be change to every day. Every day has to be unique. (which is why the 4Seasons add-on to Sims3 was a very important one)
But do not mix up change with individuality. Every NPC, every location, every occupation, every activity needs near infinite ammounts of variation.
There have to be hundreds of personality traits that shape hundreds of millions of personalities (like 4 traits each character, 100 traits to choose from ~= 100,000,000 variations).
If your character follows a carreer they need ranks, specializations, performance, happiness, colleague relationships, reputation, etc.
If your character does a side activity, there should be skill-levels to it, there should be ways to increase general stats, make them happy, sad, angry etc., everything has to come to life.
The focus about this genre is to follow a virtual living being through their life through everything.
If you manage to get the player attached to their characer(s), the game's going to be successful, because this is what the genre is about.
The genre is about immersion.
and think about the genre in itself.
The Sims is not the first life-simulation game, but certainly the most popular up until today (mostly because the competition died in the great simulatior crash long time ago).
This specific title profitted from its richness of content surrounding playing with the every-day life of your character(s).
You can create your own story, shape your own destiny, fool around and spend hours over hours just with the building system.
Keeping the strengths in mind, I believe a game of the same genre should represent these strengths aswell:
There should be an equally strong building system.
Since the competition is extremely strong in this one, I suggest not to drop the ball here.
Make a building system with a new approach or take them head on by making a similar system. In any case it shouldn't lack depth.
When it comes to the game mechanics surrounding the characters themselves, I believe there are many ways to create a very unique approach to the genre.
It could range from a pure single-character gameplay experience that has more depth to it and enhanced online-functionality (like actual multi-player), over to a fully indirect control of multiple characters. It could even be a game'ified Second-Life.
What you should keep in mind is that this is more than just a simulation. It's also a subtle form of RPG. The Sims may not have a classic RPG dialogue system, but everything else about character interaction screams "RPG".
One part will be that there has to be a challenge to the every-day life.
A second part will be that there has to be change to every day. Every day has to be unique. (which is why the 4Seasons add-on to Sims3 was a very important one)
But do not mix up change with individuality. Every NPC, every location, every occupation, every activity needs near infinite ammounts of variation.
There have to be hundreds of personality traits that shape hundreds of millions of personalities (like 4 traits each character, 100 traits to choose from ~= 100,000,000 variations).
If your character follows a carreer they need ranks, specializations, performance, happiness, colleague relationships, reputation, etc.
If your character does a side activity, there should be skill-levels to it, there should be ways to increase general stats, make them happy, sad, angry etc., everything has to come to life.
The focus about this genre is to follow a virtual living being through their life through everything.
If you manage to get the player attached to their characer(s), the game's going to be successful, because this is what the genre is about.
The genre is about immersion.
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This.
I think character interaction would make or break a game in this regard. The player should be able to create and customize their character top-down with perceivably limitless possibilities, and send them on a 100+ hour adventure, only to make a new game not because they got bored but because they were too eager to try something different from start (like Skyrim or something). One flaw I found with the Sims, later copies specifically, was the reluctance to include very negative traits, circumstances, or consequences, or more meaningful positive versions of such. The Sims had a more "happy go-lucky" memory-lane-ish feel. A Paradox Game can be equally comical, have some ridiculousness, but be more emotionally realistic:
-Meaningful relationships, almost like a 3-D version of how CKII characters interact (but better). In the Sims, you could just have a conversation about ducks and become friends, and they literally only existed to watch movies or have sex with your character. This hypothetical game would need to make positive and negative relationships meaningful and memorable. Friends can become friends after simple conversations, but they have to be the people who would put everything down to help your character whenever in needs, and expect you to do the same for them. The friend that says they will visit if they find out your character is sad, the friend that will back you up when someone else torments your character, etc. Enemies need to be real rivals, out to get you and screw you over at every turn legally or illegally, from childhood bullies to workplace rivals, and from common criminals to your worst nightmares that you would actually call the police for. Fear needs to be an emotion or attitude, as some people you just really want to stay away from.
-More actual consequences. In the Sims, your consequences are pretty limited to character relationships. If your character is a stand-up guy, others should flock around them like heroes, or become envious and behave negatively towards him. Perhaps build up a reputation as well, where if you act "outside of what is normal for you", people react in surprise. The jerk thanked someone for something? The cool guy just slapped his girlfriend? The happy-go-lucky girl started a fight? The chill dude in the glasses is sad? Other consequences. Screw up at work, you should get fired. Get fired, based on your personality you should either become angry or depressed, or not at all (your character is pretty stoic and chill and knows to start finding a new job).
-What I said...but applied to more mundane situations. Life is a bit less melodramatic than I make it sound like. For consequences, if you decided to not catch any sleep recently, you piss off your boss by falling asleep at work instead of just falling down to the ground comically without anyone really reacting. The guy perhaps slaps you awake. Nothing much happens afterwards, you didn't get fired, you didn't lose anything except a chance to nap, but these little things are just as meaningful for the player as more dramatic scenarios. Another example, your character, a child, decides to not do homework, parent gets upset, and based on your personality you could get bored and encouraged to sneak out and do mischievous stuff, or for other personalities your character just sulks in their room.
-Expanded world. Open world, access to lots of people each with their own hopes and dreams. No rabbit holes. You go into a theatre, you actually get to see your character in the theatre, and actually do things (like telling the guy next to you to shut up). Even a boring desk job shouldn't be a rabbit hole, as how boring it is will encourage the player to behave more deviantly or pitifully. Lots of people to friend, lots of people to despise. Even a chance to be a hobo or something. I dunno.
-No holding back punches. Sims understandably needed to remain kid friendly, and I definitely think a game like this should remain tame enough for market purposes and for the sake of remaining tasteful, but the game can be a bit more open when depicting death, and triggers for negative emotions, and negative relationships. Doesn't need to be anymore brutal than CKII does it, perhaps less since this stuff is going to be 3-d and animated.
-More actual consequences. In the Sims, your consequences are pretty limited to character relationships. If your character is a stand-up guy, others should flock around them like heroes, or become envious and behave negatively towards him. Perhaps build up a reputation as well, where if you act "outside of what is normal for you", people react in surprise. The jerk thanked someone for something? The cool guy just slapped his girlfriend? The happy-go-lucky girl started a fight? The chill dude in the glasses is sad? Other consequences. Screw up at work, you should get fired. Get fired, based on your personality you should either become angry or depressed, or not at all (your character is pretty stoic and chill and knows to start finding a new job).
-What I said...but applied to more mundane situations. Life is a bit less melodramatic than I make it sound like. For consequences, if you decided to not catch any sleep recently, you piss off your boss by falling asleep at work instead of just falling down to the ground comically without anyone really reacting. The guy perhaps slaps you awake. Nothing much happens afterwards, you didn't get fired, you didn't lose anything except a chance to nap, but these little things are just as meaningful for the player as more dramatic scenarios. Another example, your character, a child, decides to not do homework, parent gets upset, and based on your personality you could get bored and encouraged to sneak out and do mischievous stuff, or for other personalities your character just sulks in their room.
-Expanded world. Open world, access to lots of people each with their own hopes and dreams. No rabbit holes. You go into a theatre, you actually get to see your character in the theatre, and actually do things (like telling the guy next to you to shut up). Even a boring desk job shouldn't be a rabbit hole, as how boring it is will encourage the player to behave more deviantly or pitifully. Lots of people to friend, lots of people to despise. Even a chance to be a hobo or something. I dunno.
-No holding back punches. Sims understandably needed to remain kid friendly, and I definitely think a game like this should remain tame enough for market purposes and for the sake of remaining tasteful, but the game can be a bit more open when depicting death, and triggers for negative emotions, and negative relationships. Doesn't need to be anymore brutal than CKII does it, perhaps less since this stuff is going to be 3-d and animated.
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On a related note, I think that's one reason why the sims of Sims 2 play differently from those of Sims 3 - both have "wants" that they roll, but Sims 2 sims also have "fears" that they roll, and some if they are realized can have massive effects on them. Sims 3 got rid of the fears.
There would have to be a limit on how much sex or violence (or alcohol/drugs, for that matter), simply because you'd want to keep that "T is for Teen" rating. But having real reactions of grief etc. to a death in the family? Absolutely.
There would have to be a limit on how much sex or violence (or alcohol/drugs, for that matter), simply because you'd want to keep that "T is for Teen" rating. But having real reactions of grief etc. to a death in the family? Absolutely.
for the "T" rating is one of the big problems of the game, specially in sims and more in sims 4, they even make the game look even more childshi than it was even supposed to be, like sims medieval you had alcohool and sims killing each others and still a "teen game" while sims 4 goes totally childshi where the only way to kill sims is by the "hand of god" and evil. loners and others sort of "bad sims" are so nice which is hard to believe someone can be "evil or mean in this game".
for me a real good life simulator musto be at last 17+M or 18+A, take a look at games like skyrim, fallout, the witcher or GTA all of then are sucessfull games and are 17+.
My problem is a team repeating the same "pattern of the sims game" and try to catter "low ending machines and "toddlers public with toddlers humor and terrible machines, even games like wow, starcraft, overwatch and others you have more "sex/violence" and others things than sims 4 which was supposed to be a "T" game but receive from the dev team B(baby) threatment when comes to censor, this make hard to take the game really serious as a "life simulator since a lot of things related to it are strong censored just to make sure the toddlers will be able to play it.
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The Sims was originally supposed to follow an American sitcom concept when it was first released. Thats why the original Sims is the way it is and I love it.
But there needs to be some type of competition out there. The Sims 4 is basically taking the franchise down, not financially but player base wise it is. The first three iterations of the game were amazing.
TS1 set the foundation. While it was not the first of its kind it was overall an instant hit and offered something other life simulators did not.
TS2 raised the bar by adding generational play, 3-D visuals, sims could have wants, fears, goals and aspirations, new life stages (baby, toddlers, children, teens, YA, Adults and Elders), a week cycle (Mon-Sun) and the Genetics system. Many longterm fans find this to be their fan favorite.
TS3 raised the bar even higher than TS2 did by adding something major for the franchise. Open Worlds. No longer were sims conformed to stay on their home lots without having to travel and deal with loading screens all the time. Sims could actually walk next door to their neighbors house, or drive to the park for an afternoon of fishing. Story Progression was a new feature that allowed for the player to have the surrounding world "live on" autonomously (getting promoted, having kids, getting married) without needing the players interference (something I didn't really like in TS2 having to micromanage everyone). There was also a new Trait system which defintely added something to the franchise. Traits made sims more diverse and added a new feeling of customization (another feature that was praised but had it's downfall). TS3's major pitfall would be the game's engine and coding. It's considered a bit unstable and not entirely reliable as some people can run the game perfectly while others have issues with it.
TS4 is basically a mess all on its own. There are too many restrictions for people to actually enjoy it. Yes there are some new things but there its not enough to keep players entertained. It's cut out so many of the things that made the series great and have captivated simmers for years.
In a nutshell, a competitor would have to see what worked and what didn't for this series. See things that players wanted but could not gain because of limitations. Many players have wanted things like hair growth, gradual aging, height differences things of that nature. More importantly listen to your fans and see what they want and what they don't want. The biggest issue with TS4 right now is the developers are not listening. People want different things I know but they're going every which way, they give us something we didn't ask for, then give us things we did and then when it looks like they're finally listening they give us something that no one really asked nor care to have.
One other thing with most games there's that shiny new new factor that makes playing it feel great for a few weeks maybe a month. TS4 needs to get back to that cause all of the other iterations have kept fans attentions for longer periods of time. With TS4 I'll be happy to have it for a week and instantly get bored. That's just my piece on the matter.
But there needs to be some type of competition out there. The Sims 4 is basically taking the franchise down, not financially but player base wise it is. The first three iterations of the game were amazing.
TS1 set the foundation. While it was not the first of its kind it was overall an instant hit and offered something other life simulators did not.
TS2 raised the bar by adding generational play, 3-D visuals, sims could have wants, fears, goals and aspirations, new life stages (baby, toddlers, children, teens, YA, Adults and Elders), a week cycle (Mon-Sun) and the Genetics system. Many longterm fans find this to be their fan favorite.
TS3 raised the bar even higher than TS2 did by adding something major for the franchise. Open Worlds. No longer were sims conformed to stay on their home lots without having to travel and deal with loading screens all the time. Sims could actually walk next door to their neighbors house, or drive to the park for an afternoon of fishing. Story Progression was a new feature that allowed for the player to have the surrounding world "live on" autonomously (getting promoted, having kids, getting married) without needing the players interference (something I didn't really like in TS2 having to micromanage everyone). There was also a new Trait system which defintely added something to the franchise. Traits made sims more diverse and added a new feeling of customization (another feature that was praised but had it's downfall). TS3's major pitfall would be the game's engine and coding. It's considered a bit unstable and not entirely reliable as some people can run the game perfectly while others have issues with it.
TS4 is basically a mess all on its own. There are too many restrictions for people to actually enjoy it. Yes there are some new things but there its not enough to keep players entertained. It's cut out so many of the things that made the series great and have captivated simmers for years.
In a nutshell, a competitor would have to see what worked and what didn't for this series. See things that players wanted but could not gain because of limitations. Many players have wanted things like hair growth, gradual aging, height differences things of that nature. More importantly listen to your fans and see what they want and what they don't want. The biggest issue with TS4 right now is the developers are not listening. People want different things I know but they're going every which way, they give us something we didn't ask for, then give us things we did and then when it looks like they're finally listening they give us something that no one really asked nor care to have.
One other thing with most games there's that shiny new new factor that makes playing it feel great for a few weeks maybe a month. TS4 needs to get back to that cause all of the other iterations have kept fans attentions for longer periods of time. With TS4 I'll be happy to have it for a week and instantly get bored. That's just my piece on the matter.
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I totally agree with you that Sims is not the first life simulation game, are much more life simulation games like Spore and others. But afkors, Sims are legend, I played this game with my sister when I was 10 years old, now this game playing my children.
The problem with Sims 4 was that it went back to long load screens in order to load more stuff on the screen at the same time. No real "game changing" improvement of graphics or gameplay... people suffer from "DLC exhaustion" from hoping to send their Sims to college for another $30 for the 4th time, or what have you. Sims 4 is more of a throwback to Sims 2 with the long load screens. Sims 3 was more of a simulation of an entire town. Not exactly sure if Sims in your neighborhood in Sims 4 even age or whatever... have kids or anything. In Sims 3 I am pretty sure this happened. Also Sims 4 added some cool housing improvements but left much to be desired. Its like they try to make new game out of something that worked, instead of improving upon it.
And the thing is, it's nowhere near as good a game as Sims 2. If I'm going to put up with that many loading screens, I'll play 2 (I have the UC), rather than get 4.
would be awesome if Paradox would make it... i'd just throw money at my screen...
paradox is probably the only company i have trust and faith on... i have big hopes in what comes to paradox games
paradox is probably the only company i have trust and faith on... i have big hopes in what comes to paradox games
So I assume that Sims 4 players in general is still unhappy or have Sims 4 been considerably improved to the point of satisfying most players?
(Note: I don't have it personally, but I do try to keep up with the state of it; I'm a simmer.)
My opinion is that it is more developed than it was on release (they've recently added toddlers, 2 1/2 years after release, for example), but it is still the weakest game in the franchise. And a lot of the problems seem to be things expansion packs can't fix, because they are the result of how the base game is structured. (The story on the development of Sims 4 is that they spent several years working on a Sims 4 whose big new features would be that it was multiplayer and require a persistent internet connection. Just like Sim City 2013. When that crashed and burned, the programmers reversed course and attempted to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - a more traditional, single player Sims 4. They probably did their best, but just didn't have enough time given the deadline they were given by EA.)
Frankly, the reception for it might have been a lot better if they'd continued on their original path of development, but *not* tried to sell the resulting game as "Sims 4," but as a new incarnation of Sims Online.
My opinion is that it is more developed than it was on release (they've recently added toddlers, 2 1/2 years after release, for example), but it is still the weakest game in the franchise. And a lot of the problems seem to be things expansion packs can't fix, because they are the result of how the base game is structured. (The story on the development of Sims 4 is that they spent several years working on a Sims 4 whose big new features would be that it was multiplayer and require a persistent internet connection. Just like Sim City 2013. When that crashed and burned, the programmers reversed course and attempted to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - a more traditional, single player Sims 4. They probably did their best, but just didn't have enough time given the deadline they were given by EA.)
Frankly, the reception for it might have been a lot better if they'd continued on their original path of development, but *not* tried to sell the resulting game as "Sims 4," but as a new incarnation of Sims Online.
For one, I'm not a Sims 4 player. I don't like the game. It's a complete fail in more than too many ways in comparison to previous games. For two, nothing has been considerably improved to satisfy me. The game is still nothing but a coat of paint with a lack of substance.
I would buy a Sims style Paradox game in a heartbeat. I stopped with Sims 4, because it was just way too shallow and removed way more features than it added.
If Paradox were to release something in this style, bringing back features like the open world and story and age progression in the world of Sims 3 and depth that Sims 2 had, while also shipping with some simple but realistic ideas inspired by various expansion packs such as weather, business ownership, celebrities and pets (not quite as important but would be a great way to stand out against the competition shipping with these furry little things) then I'd be all over this, especially if it was a little bit more mature, such as having actual alcohol and the pros and cons that come with that
It would be great to also see graphics that are a little less cartoony and feature things like hair physics and cloth physics, but still optimizing the game enough to be able to run fine on low end machines with these features turned off.
Also mod support is a must, but I have absolutely no doubt in the world you guys would already have that as a priority. There are many things that could be done to further encourage this kind of personalization though, such as also allowing customizations to things like the game's music, not limited to radio stations but what you hear in the build/buy modes too. I'd absolutely love the choice to import my favorite Sims 1, 2 and 3 build/buy songs and have them playing along side the new ones (if I like them enough).
Please make it happen!
Edit: Also while it's not quite as important as everything else I mentioned, it would be awesome to see an optional direct control setting, making the game playable with a controller and having direct control over your avatars, being able to swap between them with the shoulder buttons or something, similar to how The Sims 2 was done on console but with no compromises to depth. I always wondered what exploring the open world of Sims 3 on foot or (maybe even one day) in a vehicle would be like if it had optional direct control.
Ahh the possibilities are endless!
If Paradox were to release something in this style, bringing back features like the open world and story and age progression in the world of Sims 3 and depth that Sims 2 had, while also shipping with some simple but realistic ideas inspired by various expansion packs such as weather, business ownership, celebrities and pets (not quite as important but would be a great way to stand out against the competition shipping with these furry little things) then I'd be all over this, especially if it was a little bit more mature, such as having actual alcohol and the pros and cons that come with that
It would be great to also see graphics that are a little less cartoony and feature things like hair physics and cloth physics, but still optimizing the game enough to be able to run fine on low end machines with these features turned off.
Also mod support is a must, but I have absolutely no doubt in the world you guys would already have that as a priority. There are many things that could be done to further encourage this kind of personalization though, such as also allowing customizations to things like the game's music, not limited to radio stations but what you hear in the build/buy modes too. I'd absolutely love the choice to import my favorite Sims 1, 2 and 3 build/buy songs and have them playing along side the new ones (if I like them enough).
Please make it happen!
Edit: Also while it's not quite as important as everything else I mentioned, it would be awesome to see an optional direct control setting, making the game playable with a controller and having direct control over your avatars, being able to swap between them with the shoulder buttons or something, similar to how The Sims 2 was done on console but with no compromises to depth. I always wondered what exploring the open world of Sims 3 on foot or (maybe even one day) in a vehicle would be like if it had optional direct control.
Ahh the possibilities are endless!
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No, don't try it, it's pure CracKThose of you who like life sims but haven't tried Crusader Kings 2 - it's as close to medieval Sims as you'll ever get
that's why it's called CK
friends don't let friends do drugs