Do you want story progression?

"LiELF;c-16586745" wrote:

"JoAnne65;c-16586687" wrote:

"LiELF;c-16585125" wrote:
It's been stated by SimGuruGrant that Sims 4 does actually already have some sort of story progression. Grant also said it's a tricky thing because it means something different to everyone.

So the real question is, what exactly is story progression to you? What exactly would you expect it to do?

Personally, I'm just fine with the way things are now. I have a bazillion households and the last thing I want is my personally created townies to start shacking up and making babies. I don't want a bunch of kids and families running around my game. I don't want my Penny Dreadful or Sherlock or Game of Thrones, etc characters getting forced into ridiculous family units or thrown into careers that don't make any sense for them. My gawd, it would drive me berserk. I already lose my mind when the game selects one of my Sims for some random npc job, like the yoga instructor or pianist or bartender.

And that's what (more agressive) story progression means to me. So, no thank you.

It does mean something different to everyone, like so many features so I don’t really understand the argument in that. It’s not like they are having problems with dictating scripts to players in this iteration, Sims 4 is full of that. It would only work if they’d think it through properly and enable people to make choices. What I’d expect: couples getting together autonomously, having babies and getting jobs (related to their traits). And progressing in those jobs. No SP at all to me feels very unrealistic in a life simulation game, as if the people surrounding your sims aren’t leading actual lives, they feel like walking furniture. I’d also be fine with a manual system by the way, like Mastercontroller, where you can choose per family if you want them to become pregnant or have a job. Then the player would be in control at all times. I like the surprises though, I don’t want to control everything. Surprises are part of life.

"poltergeist;c-16585283" wrote:

"barraakeno;c-16584068" wrote:

"poltergeist;c-16582771" wrote:
the amount of people voting for plain yes kinda scares me lol.
assuming it's mccc style, i only want it for certain saves. no way do i want all of my sims getting divorced and having random children and moving wherever they please.

Well... the question was "Do you want... ?" not "How do you think it should be implemented in a way that's good for every one?" Actually I don't think the "only if there's a toggle" is a valid choice for this poll, it's like asking: "Do like apples?" "Yes" "No" "only if I can choose to eat other fruits as well"

the question isn't "do you like story progression", your apple analogy is... apples and oranges. (hahA)
i like story progression, but if the only way to implement it is by forcing it onto every single one of my saves then i certainly don't want it regardless of how much i like it.
to me voting plain "yes" implies that you want it at all costs. confirmed by this post. https://78.media.tumblr.com/7050d046a90a4c9500118e429a670560/tumblr_inline_mpl4ofWS2s1qz4rgp.gif

"JoAnne65;c-16583865" wrote:

I actually considered voting the toggle but chose ‘yes’ because for me it’s yes, and not ‘only if there’s a toggle’. (...) Of course a toggle if possible. If a toggle wouldn’t be possible? Then definitely SP for me.

anyway, all of the choices are "valid", yours is too. i was only sharing my opinion. :)

Yes, but your opinion was based on the idea everybody voting ‘yes’ did so because they want to impose SP on everyone. That’s not what ‘yes’ means to the yes sayers was what I was trying to explain. You were indirectly accusing people who vote yes or no of being inconsiderate of others, wanting to have things their way. You’re misinterpreting our yes and no. You can have an opinion but not about my or somebody else’s motives. We have every right to object to that.

I think one of the main obstacles for this would be just how many toggles would be needed in order to offer proper customization. A simple on/off would work, of course, but then how would they incorporate it for people who want more same sex families as opposed to traditional? It would be in bad taste to exclude LGBT+ progression after patching in that big CAS inclusive update. Would couples be completely randomized altogether? Would it be productive, or even possible, to make a customization panel for exactly what each player wants in order to offer more possibilities? We've been told before that the more toggles they put in, the higher the risk of game issues.

So with that in mind, I've weighed in whether I think it's ultimately worth it and I honestly don't. But you never know, there could be a way to do it that would actually work out for a lot of people and still allow me to not use it and not risk major game bugs. I'm not a developer so I really don't know what is ultimately possible.

Yes, I indeed think the technical aspect here can’t be ignored (so my yes might very well be the yes of a dreamer and not possible). Sims 3’s SP was a hot mess and though NRaas SP sounds like heaven to me, I don’t dare to install it because I hear it seriously slows down your game. It’s not worth that for me (so I stick to the manual MC method in TS3). As for the LGBT aspect, that in fact did work properly in Sims 3 - and also in 2 even I believe - so that they can do.

Is it true by the way there’s a mod for Sims 4 that adds SP..? That would mean it is possible isn’t it?

@JoAnne65

You can add story progression through MCCC.

It is very basic, sims pretty much only get married, form relationships and get pregnant (at least I haven't noticed anything more in my own game) but to me personally that's better than nothing :)

Personally, it's a yes, but I don't really see the point of doing it if it is going to ruin the game for other simmers. It should absolutely be implemented, but it should be done correctly and they should take the time to make sure there is a toggle option that works before putting it into the game. Otherwise, add it in as an optional update somehow so some of us can have it and others can pass if they prefer.

"agustd;c-16586767" wrote:
@JoAnne65

You can add story progression through MCCC.

It is very basic, sims pretty much only get married, form relationships and get pregnant (at least I haven't noticed anything more in my own game) but to me personally that's better than nothing :)

It certainly is. And can you set it? Because if a modder can do that, why wouldn’t the developers of the game?

"JoAnne65;c-16586687" wrote:

Yes, but your opinion was based on the idea everybody voting ‘yes’ did so because they want to impose SP on everyone.

no, that's not what my opinion is. my opinion is that voting "yes" means you want it at all costs. that's how i interpret it, and that's how i think the devs will interpret it if they see it. i think that sort of attitude gives devs the leeway to forego giving simmers options/toggles.
i did not say voting "yes" means you "want to impose story progression" on others, i said it means you don't care if it is imposed. you may very well like a toggle too, but if there is no toggle you do not mind.
again, that's just how i interpreted it and it made me nervous, but you are right that perhaps many "yes" voters did not interpret it the same way as i did.

"JoAnne65;c-16586687" wrote:

Because doesn’t that imply you don’t want SP at all costs?

yes, it does imply that and you are welcome to call me inconsiderate if you like (although i never said that about any of you). but you won't lose anything from not having story progression. the game already lacks story progression and it's not advertised as having story progression.
on the other hand, suddenly adding forced story progression will ruin many people's games.

anyway i am done defending myself here, i stand by what i said. feel free to insightful bomb me. :relaxed:

Yeah, if there is no choice and no ability to do cheats with controlling Story Progression, then I’m out.

I’m not interested in being shut out of a Sims game again after Sims 3, so I’m going to be pretty loud and vocal about the SP thing being done properly with options, or an on/off toggle, for rotational players.

I don't even want time progression, let alone story progression!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Such things make any sane attempt at rotational play among several families in one game save total FUBAR. When I park my sims in a particular condition when I go off to the next family, I expect to find them there when I get back to them, not no telling where doing no idea what. I like how TS1 & TS2 handle it, have been doing it that way since 2000, and not inclined to change now. I know that other simmers play and feel differently, so that is why I vote for the option. Options are good -the more the better, being told how we are to play is not.

"JoAnne65;c-16586775" wrote:

"agustd;c-16586767" wrote:
@JoAnne65

You can add story progression through MCCC.

It is very basic, sims pretty much only get married, form relationships and get pregnant (at least I haven't noticed anything more in my own game) but to me personally that's better than nothing :)

It certainly is. And can you set it? Because if a modder can do that, why wouldn’t the developers of the game?

Yes, you can turn different things about it on and off, for example you can set it so sims in the world have affairs and cheat on their spouses, but you can leave that option disabled. You can even set an exact percentage of how many autonomous marriages and pregnancies you want in the world. Other MCCC settings work amazingly with SP and you can truly customize it to suit your game the best, although that takes some time (at least it did for me until I figured out what works best for me)

It's not perfect but definitely makes the world feel more alive.

Considering Grant's recent tweets, the current team is afraid their vision of what story progression is may not overlap with other players' vision but if a modder can allow us to toggle off unwanted features so should they. It's just probably a thriving, naturally evolving world just isn't a part of their concept for this game. "You rule" - right? ;)

If I would use it or not. Or if I would want it doesn't really matter. I have it already, and that is without any mods. sometimes when I look through my unplayed families, and even those who "aren't in the world" all of the sudden I find a single mom with a baby or two. I get curious and place her in a house, let the baby/babies grow to toddlers and learn who the father is. Then I track him down and place him with the mother and the kids. Big success every time! Lots of Story Progression in my game, and I find it exiting. :wink:

"agustd;c-16589903" wrote:

"JoAnne65;c-16586775" wrote:

"agustd;c-16586767" wrote:
@JoAnne65

You can add story progression through MCCC.

It is very basic, sims pretty much only get married, form relationships and get pregnant (at least I haven't noticed anything more in my own game) but to me personally that's better than nothing :)

It certainly is. And can you set it? Because if a modder can do that, why wouldn’t the developers of the game?

Yes, you can turn different things about it on and off, for example you can set it so sims in the world have affairs and cheat on their spouses, but you can leave that option disabled. You can even set an exact percentage of how many autonomous marriages and pregnancies you want in the world. Other MCCC settings work amazingly with SP and you can truly customize it to suit your game the best, although that takes some time (at least it did for me until I figured out what works best for me)

It's not perfect but definitely makes the world feel more alive.

Considering Grant's recent tweets, the current team is afraid their vision of what story progression is may not overlap with other players' vision but if a modder can allow us to toggle off unwanted features so should they. It's just probably a thriving, naturally evolving world just isn't a part of their concept for this game. "You rule" - right? ;)

Thanks! MCCC is a mod I don’t have yet, but I think I should...