Desperately Fishing for EA's Attention: Any realism expansions?

Gillie írta:You have to remember most people go on a message board not to read novels.

I wrote this thread for EA, actually. Yes, most people on a (non-technical) message board don't read huge lists of features or changes (change logs).

I leave the market research to EA. I'm not up to doing that.

In fact, you're also very right if you're implying that the major market segment won't care about gameplay balance or challenges or puzzle-solving.

It is a well-known fact that MacDonald's does better than Carl's Junior because Macs cater to kids' tastes (toyetic stuff, colorful packaging, etc). I prefer Carl's fish burger to Mac's anytime. A real meal. But we simply find it hard to deny a kid's whims. We see a lot of games with lousy gameplay still sell quite a bit, simply because they cater to quick whims ("buy and forget" syndrome).

And to defeat my own post honestly, I wouldn't mind the $50 I spent on Sims 3, though I don't play it anymore. Too small a price to complain about. I still think Sims 3 is way worth the $50.

Gillie írta:And like someone said, just ignore the ambrosia.

But the option is there, no? I had accidentally "replaced" my old toilet a few times, though I was still happily improving my Handiness skill from repairing it often.

In programming effort, it isn't tough to add a "turn on/off" switch to things. It's called customizability.

In marketing terms, EA might want to charge good money for such customizability, as easy as it is to implement.

i dont have the stamina to stayu with player made challenges for long but i do the in game skill challenges more oft than not

There's no reason to take out rewards such as the Teleport Pad. You simply don't purchase it, which is easier than a turn on/turn off function. Same with other things like Life Fruit, you just don't use the feature. It sounds to me that you're bothered by their mere existence in the game. The majority of players are not, however.

While I personally also think it'd be cool if the Sims game had some sort of feature to reinforce challenge rules, the Sims series has always been an open ended game with no ultimate ending and I really don't see them changing that. It is not an RPG =\

(Lastly, I don't see how the legacy challenge is impossible (explanation?) It is long, but that doesn't equate to impossible...)

P.S. I am also bored of the Sims 3 though

Just playing it to kind of kill time before some MMOs are released.

Tiari írta:(Lastly, I don't see how the legacy challenge is impossible (explanation?) It is long, but that doesn't equate to impossible...)

Can we honestly say that we have abided by every rule throughout 10 generations? That we have kept a clean tally of scores? All the while as we play into the wee groggy hours of the morning?

Having completed a legacy challenge like that, I can't honestly tell myself "ah, good job, you've done it". I can never be sure that my sims didn't go off and cheat in some corner of Sunset Valley.

Liken it to chess. Winning at casual games isn't as satisfying as winning at tournament games. Referees are there at tournaments to ensure that all games are played legally. When we win at a tournament, we are certain we accomplished something.

Purchasing the Teleportation Pad by mistake will mean you have to reload a saved game.

The long legacy challenge is possible to complete. But in practice, rules and score are nigh impossible to enforce and track at all times.

If so many of us here don't mind such shortcomings in Sims 3, then obviously no improvements will be made.

Still, that isn't wrong, in marketing terms.

In my part of town, local ghost storybooks sell as well as Harry Potter books. The quality of those local books are nowhere close to those of Harry Potter. Gossip and Intrigue is a lucrative commodity.

Which reminds me (again about gameplay!

), regarding Gossip and Intrigue. To keep your party guests happy, simply go to every guest and give them a +10 mood with Gossip (Intrigued) and +10 mood with Compliment (Flattered). Don't forget to force-feed them with a +10 mood from a good meal. Then get them to play at a sprinkler together till they get +40 mood from "Having a Blast". That's 70 altogether. If your guests' average mood score is above 65, you just threw a awesome party. Don't occupy them with banter!

Tiari írta:P.S. I am also bored of the Sims 3 though Just playing it to kind of kill time before some MMOs are released.

Now, if you can design challenges with automatically enforced rules. If you can upload those challenges. If you can play official challenges. There would be something more to do, right?

Some of us delight in creating new colors. Some want to solve puzzles.

For the first group, Sims 3 knows/presents no bounds! In fact, I'm probably using Sims 3 to design my dream home.

MY EYES!
-twitch-

Thanks to all who read and contributed to this thread. Your frank feedback has helped to refine this thread, so my wish list and justification thereof should (hopefully) appear more coherent and thought-out to EA.

First and Final Bump

This is my first and final bump to this thread. I won't bump it anymore, because threads seem to get pushed to 3rd page and beyond within a matter of 1 hour.

This bump is also to give EA at least one chance to respond. I couldn't PM SimGuruLyndsay. Also, it seems tough to hunt for and organize threads in this forum. My condolences to any EA staff having to gather market research via this forum.

If this thread gets buried without EA'a attention, so be it. Geeks like me get more time freed up for other geeky pursuits. Hehe.

I won't be exploring Sims 3 or expansions anymore in that case.

In Honest Appreciation of Sims 3 Accomplishments

But in honest appreciation, I must say Sims 3 is the closest to real-life simulator EA has made. I looked at Sims 2 before, and didn't like the artificial neighborhood links. Didn't even bother to see if the Sims 2 expansions corrected that. Now I know they didn't, and am glad I didn't bother.

So again, Sims 3 is nothing short of a breakthrough. I will come back to it when I have devised another personal challenge that doesn't require inordinate amounts of book-keeping to maintain rules and track scores. My last one was... play the Martinez and get them to have 3 kids while topping their careers. The Martinez start at middle age (40-ish?), so it's a great challenge.

Challenge Gamers Still Not Served

I long to play the legacy challenge again. But the book-keeping required probably hurt my brain more than my long posts hurt CashingTheFame's eyes!

As a further counter-argument to the "simply don't use life fruit" argument, just to show I'm not ignoring any of you contributors... Look at the number of common gripes "I have no stamina for legacy challenge (or the like)". That's the book-keeping obstacle talking. If we could save our games, who would mind long games? It's the book-keeping that hurts our staminas.

Also, look at the numerous "clarification" posts to the legacy challenge rules (Pinstar1161's thread). If rules were well though-out, and automatically enforced in the game, challenge players will simply play the game and discover the rules quickly. Probably also report bugs with the rules, and suggest amendments.

Currently, Sims 3 doesn't easily allow us to test our challenge rules. It's a already a challenge for us to manually remember those rules when playing! I sure feel like I'm acting as "game master" (aka Sims 3 game engine itself), while the Sims 3 AI is playing MY game! Wow, that's a new level of realism alright. The game playing me as I dish out the game rules, rather than me playing the game.

And that's it. My last post in this thread, unless I need to express new information.

In the meantime, somebody, anybody, send me a challenge that requires zero book-keeping.

I couldn't think of one. There's no "number of days" counter in Sims 3. So I can't like "make 20 masterpieces in 30 days". There's book-keeping right there, manually keeping track of the number of days past.

And then, after I submit my accomplishment (via a saved game) to the challenge designer, she'd ask me "are you 110% sure you or your autonomous sims did not cheat"?

Then I'd say "In all honesty...", and stop short with my mouth wide open. Why did she have to add the clause "autonomous sims"? Argh!

Herea a challenge for ya Make 1 Mil in cash within 3 generations without using anything that extends life

I have understood you like to experience different challenges in this game.
Personally I am not so like challenges thingy. I do like to relax while gaming not to get frustrated by something. If this game will content any unaccomplished by me but required challenges this game will be not for me.
The game could have difficulties level "Easy", "Difficult", "Hard". But I doubt it could be done cos the game itself is to complicated and big.
If you feel some things are not so realistic just don't use it that's it!

Just have fun and happy simming!

Coffefreak4Life írta:Herea a challenge for ya Make 1 Mil in cash within 3 generations without using anything that extends life

So I have to make sure my sim doesn't keep any life fruits earned from opportunities. Make sure my sim doesn't keep any life fruit from gardening. In fact, better to simply avoid planting special seeds in the first place. As mentioned, life fruits in inventory can be autonomously ingested.

What about other rules? You do know that asking a sim to move in will add cash to the household, right? So I now have to avoid accidentally clicking the "Ask to Move In" button.

And there are other "minefields of potential exploits" I need to knowingly and wakefully avoid.

No wonder this game isn't geared for challenge gamers, like Simsprocfun seemed to indicate. Playing it like a challenge will certainly make the most diligent gamers sweat digital bits of data! (in reference to gamers becoming game masters who dish out and maintain mountains of game rules, while the computer itself becoming a gamer!).

Simsprocfun írta:If you feel some things are not so realistic just don't use it that's it!

There's a difference between "safety lock out" and "just wakefully avoid using it". A airplane's pressurized cockpit has doors that can't be opened in the air. Geez, why do we even spend extra research money inventing a "fail-safe mechanism" like that? Why not just ask the cabin crew to simply "just don't use it (open the cabin doors), that's it!"?

I'm repeating myself, really. Sorry about that. I'll have to stop repeating. The arguments have been flogged to death, back to life, and to death all over again. Hehe.

Different market segments, different expectations, I guess. While I would be in awe of a chess program that can beat me 10 of 10 times, you as a chess enthusiast might complain about "predictable AI exploits" (with accompanying logic reasoning way out of my field of familiarity).

Simsprocfun írta:The game could have difficulties level "Easy", "Difficult", "Hard". But I doubt it could be done cos the game itself is to complicated and big.

The game already has a setting for sim life spans.

I'm not sure if my saying this will seem inappropriate to you, but it's a plain (though really not simple and obvious) truth. So here goes. Many things in Sims 3 are way more complicated than installing an additional on/off switch (say to turn off life fruit effects, turn off some rewards, etc). So what are they? Hmm...

The story progression. I read that EA has a "28 days later" test case that tests the story progression. The whole thing sounds easier in concept: just make everybody age along with the active household. But in practice it's tough, involving difficult AI. While many of us here complain about bugs in the story progression, we might wanna understand that it's tough to get right.

The social interactions. Yeah, I know it's just a few clicks in the game. But the factors involved in calculating responses are immense. Consider a real-life conversation. Multitudes of possible outcomes. Only the truly charismatic communicate successfully almost all the time (and perhaps go on to write speeches for presidents).

The physical genetics. Though introduced way back from Sims 2 (right?), blending the mother's and father's physical features together to make a child is complicated morphing and calculation. Something we take for granted because it's now so transparent and so... "right there all along".

And many more. Even the 3-D graphics is rocket science compared to the simple on/off switches I'm asking for.

And if you're worried about having to "turn on" the option for life extension effects, you won't have to. EA can just make those options already turned on by default. Those who want a realistic challenge can take the trouble to set the switches to non-default settings.

Simsprocfun írta:I do like to relax while gaming not to get frustrated by something. If this game will content any unaccomplished by me but required challenges this game will be not for me.

Yes, me too.

At times, I just want to succeed, you know? Just... let me create a fantasy world in which I'm a rock star. Please!

Especially when I need a pick-me-up.

But other times, I want to stretch my legs (or brain cells). I may feel buffed up from recent exercise (a la the "Buffed" moodlet). I may feel I can take on the world. I'll want to fire up Sims 3 challenge mode, and say to it: "Now, gimme your best shot".

Wow someone paid attention in schoool.

...too...many words!!!

Sim_Outlaw írta:Wow someone paid attention in schoool.

You kidding?

Of course I did!

I'm a genius geek. Wait, where's the geek trait in Sims 3? Well, I'll settle for neurotic.

Now, when I have made my first million, I'm a find those footballers who dunked me in the locker every fortnight...

If this thread is for EA, why didn't you just write them an email or something?

smoneill89 írta:If this thread is for EA, why didn't you just write them an email or something?

You mean at here (http://easims.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easims.cfg/php/enduser/ask.p
hp?p_sid=Wjrln3Dj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=), right?

I can't log in with my username "viewpoint".

viewpoint írta:

smoneill89 írta:If this thread is for EA, why didn't you just write them an email or something?

You mean at here (http://easims.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easims.cfg/php/enduser/ask.p
hp?p_sid=Wjrln3Dj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=), right?

I can't log in with my username "viewpoint".

ohhh ok (: I was just wondering bcuz I don't think they really pay attention to threads unless they're being reported.