Option to turn off loading screens.

"GrayLady2010;13011224" wrote:

"ejoslin;13011173" wrote:
See, what doesn't make sense to me is that most people who play video games like playing on higher end machines. They must have been aiming for people who play zynga games instead of standalone PC games. The problem is, they want the type of free to play model, but they don't understand the different market. The free 2 play people aren't going to shell out $70 for a game, so it doesn't matter if it will run on their netbook or not.

What they should do is what they were doing before -- have a game that appeals to PC users. Aim for people who use midrange machines and have a good engines to build on. Then do what they were doing in the Sims 3 -- sell a bunch of stuff that some people will buy and some won't.

Then also have your free 2 play game. Have it be based on the standalone game, and have it run in a web browser. That way people can idly play on their phones or whatnot. That way you're going after both markets plus have overlap. But you want to win the people who are investing money in their systems and games first -- they're more likely to pay extra for F2P stuff than the people who just want to play F2P stuff.

Yep. And they started going after the Zynga crowd. Here a quote from an article regarding Zynga's current status: "No one's surprised that Zynga is now hemorrhaging money and employees. Zynga's core strategy was "Find the most easily distracted people in the world, then try to hold their attention for several years."

But you keep trying EA. Just be careful what you wish for.

Worse. They are going after a crowd that is used to playing for free (I know there are people who dump silly amounts on it). Best case scenario, Zygna corners the market on people who don't plan to pay for a game, worst case scenario, Zygna corners the market on people who don't plan to pay for a game. And THIS is what EA wants? I know I'm missing something. Guess I'm not cut out for the sleek veneer of 2000's business style success.

I used to play FrontierVille and FarmVille. I got turned off playing the games when the quests overwhelmed everything, and I had to have harass my friends just to get items to complete quests...in fact, I created a separte gaming account on Facebook so I wouldn't have to harass real life family and friends. That got old real fast. Needless to say, I don't play those games anymore.

"Darleymikey;13012032" wrote:

"GrayLady2010;13011224" wrote:

"ejoslin;13011173" wrote:
See, what doesn't make sense to me is that most people who play video games like playing on higher end machines. They must have been aiming for people who play zynga games instead of standalone PC games. The problem is, they want the type of free to play model, but they don't understand the different market. The free 2 play people aren't going to shell out $70 for a game, so it doesn't matter if it will run on their netbook or not.

What they should do is what they were doing before -- have a game that appeals to PC users. Aim for people who use midrange machines and have a good engines to build on. Then do what they were doing in the Sims 3 -- sell a bunch of stuff that some people will buy and some won't.

Then also have your free 2 play game. Have it be based on the standalone game, and have it run in a web browser. That way people can idly play on their phones or whatnot. That way you're going after both markets plus have overlap. But you want to win the people who are investing money in their systems and games first -- they're more likely to pay extra for F2P stuff than the people who just want to play F2P stuff.

Yep. And they started going after the Zynga crowd. Here a quote from an article regarding Zynga's current status: "No one's surprised that Zynga is now hemorrhaging money and employees. Zynga's core strategy was "Find the most easily distracted people in the world, then try to hold their attention for several years."

But you keep trying EA. Just be careful what you wish for.

Worse. They are going after a crowd that is used to playing for free (I know there are people who dump silly amounts on it). Best case scenario, Zygna corners the market on people who don't plan to pay for a game, worst case scenario, Zygna corners the market on people who don't plan to pay for a game. And THIS is what EA wants? I know I'm missing something. Guess I'm not cut out for the sleek veneer of 2000's business style success.

I've worked in sales companies, and even if I didn't agree with their decisions I could figure out why they made said decisions. Does EA actually think people will put out even more money on what has turned out to be "the Sims Freeplay for PC?" I'm not sure we're missing anything. I'm beginning to think EA is digging their grave with their poor management decisions.

Edit:typo.

It's not really the Sims FreePlay though. The Sims Freeplay plays out in real time; The Sims 4 doesn't.

I'm not a game developer or anything (even though I am studying it), but I'm prettyyyy sure you can't take out loading screens from the game. They're annoying to most, that's true. But they serve a purpose of loading in specific content, scripts, etc so that your game doesn't crash. From my perspective, TS4 was purposely made for people with low end computers. With that range of audience, more sales. It's pretty obvious. Thankfully, the loading screens aren't as long as TS3's. However, they have lost a lot of free roam ability due to the fact that this game was built for low end computers. Which ironically, leads to less sales. Because we want an open world. With added EP's the loading times may increase over time but hopefully by just a small percentage.

"Plumbobmad3;13012145" wrote:
I'm not a game developer or anything (even though I am studying it), but I'm prettyyyy sure you can't take out loading screens from the game. They're annoying to most, that's true. But they serve a purpose of loading in specific content, scripts, etc so that your game doesn't crash. From my perspective, TS4 was purposely made for people with low end computers. With that range of audience, more sales. It's pretty obvious. Thankfully, the loading screens aren't as long as TS3's. However, they have lost a lot of free roam ability due to the fact that this game was built for low end computers. Which ironically, leads to less sales. Because we want an open world. With added EP's the loading times may increase over time but hopefully by just a small percentage.

There we go again...blaming low end computers for the flaws in the game. No, actually, the loading screens were probably part of the MMORPG gameplay which was probably based on The Sims Online model, and which indicates to me, anyway, that EA/Maxis didn't learn from its past mistake when trying to develop the online version...it's my opinion that the loading lot by lot and the overly socialized gameplay is what ruined The Sims Online, not to mention the fact that most people want the online version to be closer to the offline version.

It's not because of low end computers that this game is below standards. It's because of EA Corporate HQ's greed, pure and simple.

"DLatrice;13012707" wrote:
> @bobyo2001 said:

> I have the same problem, my disks aren't able to run. I can simply contact them and they'll give it to me for free?



About a month ago, I contacted them through their support chat and told them my discs wouldnt run. They asked me for an activation code from my discs to verify, and then added the sims2 ultimate collection to my origin for free.

I think there was something about how they no longer support The Sims 2 (on disk). I believe I saw it when I first downloaded my copy of Ultimate Collection (which I can't play because my pawnshop computer doesn't like).

All I need from my loading screens is the ability to customize them. I have MS and looking at a glaring white screen for even 10 seconds really hurts my eyes and my head!!!! I don't want to have a seizure just loading my game! lol Please let us change the colour of the background, since all the "animations" are probably transparent and totally not important to me in the slightest. I just hate the white assault. Do I need shades on hand to play the sims now?

*sings "The loading screen's so bright, I gotta wear shades" B) *

"Plumbobmad3;13012145" wrote:
Thankfully, the loading screens aren't as long as TS3's.

Really? Come let's make a little calculation:
It normally takes about 3 to 5 minutes to load a neighborhood in Sims 3.
A loading screen in Sims 4 lasts about 30 seconds.
That makes just 6 to 10 loads in Sims 4 and the total time equals the one in Sims 3.

"Cyron43;13013407" wrote:

"Plumbobmad3;13012145" wrote:
Thankfully, the loading screens aren't as long as TS3's.

Really? Come let's make a little calculation:
It normally takes about 3 to 5 minutes to load a neighborhood in Sims 3.
A loading screen in Sims 4 lasts about 30 seconds.
That makes just 6 to 10 loads in Sims 4 and the total time equals the one in Sims 3.

Serious question here- What do devs that work for years on a really good game do about technological advances during that time? Do they have contingency plans they can work into the final product or is it just "here's the engine, deal with it?"