Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Top Secret Researcher
#26 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 4:10 AM
I flipped because of the social integration in SHT and the likes. But as long as they are optional to use, I am semi ok with it for now.

If EA made TS4 so that it was TSO with one sim and the rest is out of your control with no sandbox, instead of a regular sims game, then I would be laughing so hard. I know it's cool to hate on EA and all, but they are not that stupid.

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
Advertisement
Lab Assistant
#27 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 5:11 AM
In addition to the '$$$ = progress > fun gaming' that everyone has theorized already, methinks that EA is trying to shmooze their younger demographics. Kids and teens love the games, they live on social networking, and they have very little reservation in showing the whole world what they do every minute of every day. (Granted, there are adults like this, too, but they're probably just as likely to buy Katy Perry merchandise as the kids.)

I, however, have things in my game that I'd rather not share with my parents, acquaintances, and future bosses. If 'Share this!' was a real button, it would be shrapnel by now. I do not 'Share!' well.

I don't think it will be as bad as all you explained, though. EA is many things and one of them is idiotic about their fans, but probably not idiotic enough to do away with the sandbox base of the Sims.
That would be like the Final Fantasy franchise suddenly coming out with a gritty first-person shooter game. Ridiculous, not what is expected of the series, and ultimately a franchise killer.
Alchemist
#28 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 6:08 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Ive
I flipped because of the social integration in SHT and the likes. But as long as they are optional to use, I am semi ok with it for now.

If EA made TS4 so that it was TSO with one sim and the rest is out of your control with no sandbox, instead of a regular sims game, then I would be laughing so hard. I know it's cool to hate on EA and all, but they are not that stupid.


my only problem with it, being as it is entirely optional at this point in time, is that for the players who dont want to use it and never do...its just a waste of CPU space. could be better filled with mods. :C

"The more you know, the sadder you get."~ Stephen Colbert
"I'm not going to censor myself to comfort your ignorance." ~ Jon Stewart
Versigtig, ek's nog steeds fokken giftig
Top Secret Researcher
#29 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 1:15 PM
I don't use it either. I constantly end up typing 1333124213211 in the box by accident.

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#30 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 3:29 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Tasselcat
In addition to the '$$$ = progress > fun gaming' that everyone has theorized already, methinks that EA is trying to shmooze their younger demographics. Kids and teens love the games, they live on social networking, and they have very little reservation in showing the whole world what they do every minute of every day. (Granted, there are adults like this, too, but they're probably just as likely to buy Katy Perry merchandise as the kids.)

I, however, have things in my game that I'd rather not share with my parents, acquaintances, and future bosses. If 'Share this!' was a real button, it would be shrapnel by now. I do not 'Share!' well.

I don't think it will be as bad as all you explained, though. EA is many things and one of them is idiotic about their fans, but probably not idiotic enough to do away with the sandbox base of the Sims.
That would be like the Final Fantasy franchise suddenly coming out with a gritty first-person shooter game. Ridiculous, not what is expected of the series, and ultimately a franchise killer.


If EA things their doing what their younger fans want they are horribly mistaken. I wonder how many of my fellow 14/15 year olds HATE this...I obviously do.
Mad Poster
#31 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 3:29 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
They don't. They want an excuse to force people online, to prevent people from pirating games and buying used games. In addition, by making the game online, they can justify charging you a monthly fee, rather than a one-time fee. Plus, they can sell advertising in the game. It's a big win for them and a big lose for us, but it's the direction that game companies are going.


Didn't they have Sims Online and it flopped? Personally, I think it's a conspiracy set up by the internet providers. They want traffic, more traffic.
Top Secret Researcher
#32 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 7:12 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Ive
I flipped because of the social integration in SHT and the likes. But as long as they are optional to use, I am semi ok with it for now.

If EA made TS4 so that it was TSO with one sim and the rest is out of your control with no sandbox, instead of a regular sims game, then I would be laughing so hard. I know it's cool to hate on EA and all, but they are not that stupid.


I disagree.

TS2 and TS3: Where adult sims potty train their toddlers.
TS4: Where adult sims make Angry Poops.

Which game is made for the juvenile minded?
Field Researcher
#33 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 8:25 PM
I may be wrong, but sometimes it seems to me that EA don't really have a clue to what their customers really want. They probably thought that it would be cool to introduce those social features because of 2 reasons:
1) too many people now share all kinds of crap in social networks,
2) there are a lot of simsgames communities where players share their stories, pics, content, etc., and discuss the game

So they probably thought, hey, they'd be crazy about the possibility to travel to other ppl's worlds, share memories, etc, we'll get a lot ofmoney out of it. But even if the idea itself is not bad, it didn't work out so well. Simport causes a lot of issues if you and the person whom you sent your sims to, or who sends sims to you, uses CC, plus those sims are stored in the sim bin, etc. However, as long as social features are optional, I don't complain, I just don't log into my sims3 community account, and turn off the store content ads, and play like I used to, before the social crap was introduced.

However, if social features, all those travels to other players' games, become necessary to achieve, let's say, some goals in the game (like accomplishing LTWs or getting some career promotions), now, that will be a reason to worry. Hope EA won't come up with such lame ideas.
Scholar
#34 Old 7th Jun 2012 at 9:08 PM
Seems like everything is moving towards "social" nowadays. EA sees this as an opportunity to increase traffic to their site, thereby reaching more customers through advertising and generating more sales. The Sims IS NOT a social game at its heart, nor does it need to be, but EA simply doesn't care about preserving the integrity of the series, and will willingly whore it out for the highest potential profit.

I'm just glad it's an optional feature, something I don't envision for TS4, which is probably why I'll stick to TS3 until newer technology can no longer play it.

♦ Animal Lover, Eco Friendly, Loner, Perfectionist, Vegetarian ♦

Sensitivity is strength.
Test Subject
#35 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 4:00 AM
I've been a longtime SimCity player, and I was extremely disappointed to read about the new one having to always be online. It also made me very pessimistic that Sims 4 will require you to be online, too. I don't mind the online features, but I DO mind having to be online. Sims and SimCity are single player games, and I really don't have much interest in what other people are doing. I play logged out because the spam from other people sharing memories and Simporting gets really annoying - the popup spam from my own Sims is bad enough!

I agree that they want to limit pirating, reduce the resale/preowned market, and of course they want to get in on the social network thing. I don't mind the social features as long as they can be turned off and do not hurt the "heart" of the game, the sandbox type play, but I resent being forced to be online. The main problem I have with forced online is that when EA pulls the plug, you can't play your game anymore. And they will, sooner or later. I'm sure that with a game as popular as The Sims it wouldn't be for many years, but eventually. I like playing old games for nostalgia (I have Sims 1 and SC3K on my laptop) and honestly, I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a game, EPs, and SPs that will eventually be unplayable. That's why I'm not getting this new SimCity even though it looks like it's going to be a good game.

I don't think they'll go the route of online fees for games like The Sims and SimCity; I think it's more likely that they're going to push the store/downloadable content instead. I don't like the idea of paying $16 for a casino and even stuff packs are overpriced in my opinion, so I stay away from all that. I could maybe see them putting in some sort of optional monthly recurring fee that allows you to download all the store content that's released each month (or something along those lines), but I don't see them ever putting in a monthly fee just to play. Sims Online was a pretty big failure, I think. I played it when it first came out and it was fun for awhile, but like many others I got bored before very long. Part of the problem was that since it was online, you couldn't ever speed up time, so when your Sim was sitting there reading a skill book, you had to sit there and just watch. Of course, the idea was that players would chat while that was going on, but the reality was that people more often just went afk or minimized the game. I think they eventually added jobs that you could go to and other stuff to make the game more fun, but I had quit playing by that point. I did get Showtime and I used Simport a little bit; the novelty was fun for awhile but it got boring very quickly.

This is a little off topic but personally, I kind of resent the whole "Facebookization" of the internet and even the real world. Sometimes I want to shut off my cell phone and my internet connection and play Sims and just be left the frick alone, but you always have people getting their knickers in a twist if you don't answer a text message within 5 minutes or if you don't check your email/facebook for a couple days. I have absolutely no interest in having people nag me in my Sims game, too. I also think that having the option to upload memories to facebook is 100% ridiculous. I seriously can't imagine posting to your whole friends list that your Sim just reached level one in mechanical skill from unclogging a toilet, or even that your Sim reached level 10 in a career track.

I'm not opposed to all social games though, I play an MMO and love it, but for me Sims has always been single player with no NEED to connect to the internet. An OPTION that can be disabled, sure, but I shouldn't be FORCED to have an internet connection. But EA has said that the new SimCity is designed "from the ground-up for multiplayer" and that “In this day and age everyone’s connected all the time, so we felt like it was the perfect time and it would be fine to do that," so I'm afraid they're going to go that direction for Sims 4, too. (Source: http://www.vg247.coma/2012/05/09/ma...or-multiplayer/ )
And all the maladies of the world burst forth from Pandora's cooch
#36 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 4:24 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Shalom
But EA has said that the new SimCity is designed "from the ground-up for multiplayer" and that “In this day and age everyone’s connected all the time, so we felt like it was the perfect time and it would be fine to do that," so I'm afraid they're going to go that direction for Sims 4, too. (Source: http://www.vg247.coma/2012/05/09/ma...or-multiplayer/ )
Typical EA spin at work. Not everyone is connected all the time, and certainly not on a desktop computer. Even a laptop can be forced offline with spotty wi-fi. They have their own reasons for making Simcity the way it is, but they are forced to put a positive spin on it. What is worse is that some people will fall for it, hook, line, and sinker.
Fat Obstreperous Jerk
#37 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 11:27 AM
The problem with online games is that if they're online and multiplayer, you have to deal with people like me, who are determined to crush you like a bug beneath our shiny black boots. Even, and especially if, it involves destroying any semblance of fun from the game. Because I'm Pescado, and I hate fun. When I'm just crushing the AI beneath my shiny black boot, you don't feel this pain. When I'm crushing YOU, you'll like me a hell of a lot less. Of the "Killer" archetypes, I am probably your least favorite: The kind that will come up with entirely new, unheard of ways of killing you that will blow your game paradigm out of the sky much like I blow YOU out of the sky. Not only will I kill you, I will do SCIENCE to you.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill because they pissed me off.
Test Subject
#38 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 12:10 PM
Its a joke ain't it
Lab Assistant
#39 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 12:56 PM
Reminds me of the hacker problems with Diablo 3.
Top Secret Researcher
#40 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 7:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by J. M. Pescado
Because I'm Pescado, and I hate fun.

In Soviet Russia, fun hates you.

TS2 and TS3: Where adult sims potty train their toddlers.
TS4: Where adult sims make Angry Poops.

Which game is made for the juvenile minded?
Lab Assistant
#41 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 7:50 PM
That's another thing. They want to 'stop' piracy. Well I'm sorry to be the damper on their shiny money day, but nothing in this world is 'un'hackable. The world would be no fun if people followed the rules all the time.
So, in light of saying that, I cannot actually wait for them to release a totally online sims 4 game. Mainly, because I can't wait to see someone totally crash their servers with the old classic threat of, "turn off the social interactions you mofos." From one pissed off sims 2/3 player.
It's bound to happen. Then EA will have to come up with a motto that doesn't pertain to their greedy palms to stop the riots outside their sunny California base.

Smile. Your Days Are Not Numbered Yet.
Alchemist
#42 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 8:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by SommarBlomma
I may be wrong, but sometimes it seems to me that EA don't really have a clue to what their customers really want.


why exactly would they be willing to listen to what their customers want when they can simply send out a poll with pigeonholing options and base their future screw-ups on that information alone? (youll notice that last poll about what we wanted simply didnt include an option for whatever it was that EA didn't want to hear us say.) their attitude is not one of "so what is it you want from us?", its one of "how can we make you dance to our tune?", because quite frankly, consumers lack the backbone to say "youve got it backwards".
ive seen plenty of people rage and throw fits about how much sims 3 sucks and how EA sucks for making it suck, only to have it added at the end of their rant that they're still going to keep buying the latest additions to the game.

money talks.
if people want EA to listen, wallets need to close, first.

"The more you know, the sadder you get."~ Stephen Colbert
"I'm not going to censor myself to comfort your ignorance." ~ Jon Stewart
Versigtig, ek's nog steeds fokken giftig
Lab Assistant
#43 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 8:25 PM
Yes, if they don't get a weather ep and stop the social interactions with stupid facebook. I'm done with them, I didn't even look twice at Showtime. Because I knew it sucked.
Godsdamnit EA! I just want an isolated, epic game to play while I think about doing what I should be doing. That's it...I'm going back to my Skyrim and elderscrolls....at least that game and others for that system don't ask for online sh*t...and try to weasle me in...as much.

Smile. Your Days Are Not Numbered Yet.
Lab Assistant
#44 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 8:58 PM
To be honest, I started out gaming exclusively on my gameboy as a wee kiddo, and literally none of my friends had one. They just didn't do 'that' kind of thing. So every game had multiplayer options back then, I could never even complete a pokemon game, so I've come to expect and tolerate it. I wasn't surprised about it featuring in the sims 3, but the extent that it does, irritates me. I mean how much am I paying for in showtime, stuff that I will NEVER use. I literally don't know anyone who plays the sims 3 at all.
When I'm sitting cross legged in front of my computer, mug of tea in hand, that is my special gaming time. Whether it's Skyrim, battlefield, oblivion, morrowind, or the sims, it's my time. Why would I want a load of people all joining in?!
Mad Poster
#45 Old 10th Jun 2012 at 10:08 PM
For me, I'm antisocial as well. I hated the DS (oh, punny, ain't I) because I couldn't play any of the games I liked without getting prompts to fill out my sheets (I believe it was Pokemon that I was playing) by connecting to other people, so I went and stuck with my GBA all the way through up until even today. (And yes, I lost my connector cord for it. Sigh.) I'm on vacation right now, village hopping, and I even brought it with me. I get a few looks, but hey.

Main point being here is that I don't want other people invading my own personal me time. I get very little (I spend most of my simming time also doing software installations and answering the phone, or playing with my boyfriend's son) and honestly, I don't want other people keeping me down. That's why I quit WoW. I might get D3 because it's pretty much social without being too intense, but for now, I'm content with TS2 and Pokemon Red, tvym.


Angie/DS | Baby Sterling - 24/2/2014
This account is mostly used by my sons to download CC now, if you see me active, it's probably just them!
Instructor
#46 Old 11th Jun 2012 at 3:48 AM
Sims online was horrible really. I never finished my first month of play (actually I think I bought it back then with a special of 3 months free?) and it flopped bigtime anyways.

Any single player games out there that require you to be online to play them wont be getting a single cent out of me.

Oh and Pescado, I knew we could rely on you.

Love does not consist of two people looking at each other, but of looking together in the right direction. - Antoine de Exupery
Mad Poster
#47 Old 11th Jun 2012 at 9:21 AM
Funny, I loved TSO . . . I only got to it when it was EA Land, but that was one of the few online games I truly enjoyed.


Angie/DS | Baby Sterling - 24/2/2014
This account is mostly used by my sons to download CC now, if you see me active, it's probably just them!
Theorist
#48 Old 11th Jun 2012 at 10:51 AM
There is no denying that games are getting more socially swayed - lots of the shoot-em-up games that were the best sellers of the previous years have all had a firm hand in being "social", that's why you get "Gamer Speak", it's why the tools in your school all talk about COD and WOW and all talk about it together and Zombie mode and nuking some noobs.. all that fun. EA's trying to ease its way into that market, it's not ridiculous for them to try. Heck, WE'RE being sociable aren't we? There has always been an Exchange/BBS board, the creators are just tying to make it easier /for that sort of player/.


BodyShopped /// ShoofleedSims
♦ // Jack.exe // ♦
/
Field Researcher
#49 Old 11th Jun 2012 at 11:02 AM
The world is into that sort of social online thing ATM. I have played the franchise since "The Sims 1" launched. I understand what EA is trying to do, but you don't have to do it! The game is still a solo game. You do not need to talk or chat with people, or use the official website. You can choose to play offline. :3 It's just an extra feature to encourage younger/newer players.

I would not worry too much. Your "online" prediction was tried and failed already. They tried to make a fully online version of "The Sims" in 2002. It was "The Sims Online" and it was a MASSIVE failure! (LOL I bought it because I was a tardo and was mad). It lasted barely a year before the servers shut down. Everyone was so upset that they could not bring their game mods online (Game rating would be increased to 18+ crazy with all the nudity, foul language on t-shits, and the adult mods people used). Yes, having the little chat features and stuff is an extra to make money for greedy EA, but you don't need to use it. EA understands that the modding community is of huge importance to their sales. They cannot make a fully online game without sacrificing the modders, just like Elder Scrolls. Modding has been a huge part of "The Sims" franchise since day one! So I don't think you really need to worry. Just don't click the "go online" button when you play.

Eclipse Sims 4 on tumblr
~°*CAS Custom Content Downloads*°~
Lab Assistant
#50 Old 11th Jun 2012 at 11:56 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Tasselcat
In addition to the '$$$ = progress > fun gaming' that everyone has theorized already, methinks that EA is trying to shmooze their younger demographics. Kids and teens love the games, they live on social networking, and they have very little reservation in showing the whole world what they do every minute of every day.


I'm not one of those teenagers. I do have social networking, like every other teenager, yet I hardly ever update my Facebook status. I do not give a cr*p about Katy Perry or whatever. So I'm one of those who hates the social aspect that EA's turning to.

With games which require you to be online are somewhat troubling. What if you're playing a PC game in a hotel room which requires you to pay for WiFi? What if your internet is down? I will be disappointed if Sims goes into the 'requires active internet connection' thing, my internet can be fussy and not work some days so I play Sims to pass time.
Page 2 of 3
Back to top