Forum Discussion

pandacookiesims's avatar
pandacookiesims
Rising Adventurer
5 months ago

pack wide content updates and patches

Considering the current fiasco of the lovestruck launch causing massive game breaking bugs, I believe EA should step back and postpone DLC releases. They should, instead of prioritizing profits, actually be considerate towards their consumer base and fix all existing game bugs. The release schedule is so packed, they keep introducing bugs, adding onto a never - ending list of pre - existing game bugs. I mean, anyone else submit a survey to EA telling them the lovestruck launch was catastrophic?

It'd be nice to have a game that actually works properly all of the time.  I'm sure EA has the resources to do in - depth bug testing and fix bugs. And instead of trying to throw content at players, because people are starting to lose interest, they should fix bugs and provide free content updates for all expansion, game, and stuff packs.

Here is a list of suggestions for content updates:

  1. base game: add harvestable wood to be used as optional ingredient for woodworking and lighting bonfires, campfires, fireplaces, and wood stoves. Add logging skill (for harvesting wood). Add mining skill (for dig piles) so that as the skill increases, the rarity of collectibles found increases (the crystal creations pack is wonderful, but the spawn rate of uncommon and rare crystals for jewelry crafting is terrible). Add coffee bean harvestable to use as optional ingredient on coffee makers and tea leaf harvestable to be used as optional ingredient on tea maker. Add more coffee and tea maker appliances (french press, tea pot, etc). Add more cooking recipes that can be prepared at a counter.
  2. get to work: make aliens an actual occult with powers, ranks, and perks. Make Sixam a destination world, allow all sims to travel to Sixam (not just scientists and astronauts). Allow all sims to host and attend alien parties. Add a smaller, more attractive cupcake factory. And more baking recipes and flavors. Add fresh and prepped ingredient compatibility with baking skill. Add vanilla bean harvestable/vanilla ingredient.
  3. get together: add dancer career with ballet dancer and dance instructor career branches. Add dance studio community venue. Add barista skill for espresso bars and barista branch for culinary career. Add more espresso grinders and machines.
  4. City Living: add more styles of performance stages and elevators. Add cooking class rabbithole/buyable cookbooks so sims can learn "taste first" recipes without having to try each item at vendor stalls. 
  5. cats and dogs: add animal shelter buyable business and animal rescue career (rescue strays and have NPCs adopt them). Add optional ingredients for crafting treats and medicines at the craft o matic.
  6. seasons: Add swings for toddlers, add ikebana style floral arrangements, Add figure skating career.
  7. island living: Add mining interaction to beach cave. Add shaved ice appliance for tropical fruits. Add clam shell collectible (scuba diving) with the ability to find pearls in clams and sell them or use them to craft jewelry at gemology table.
  8. discover university: add skateboard vehicle. add more food options to cafeteria station.
  9. eco lifestyle: make dye craftable, make juice fizz bottle and carton recyclable, and add candle holders for crafted candles.
  10. snowy escape: add martial arts skill, dojo community venue, and japanese teapot.
  11. cottage living: add cotton harvestable and craftable thread for cross stitching. Add sugar and wheat harvestable and mill appliance for crafting sugar and flour.
  12. high school years: Add swim team after school activity. Add cross compatibility for CAS items from other DLCs to thrift store.
  13. growing together: add functional strollers for infants and toddlers (sims can walk and jog with stroller). Add functional walkers for toddlers so they can practice motor skill (also acts as highchair). 
  14. horse ranch: Allow child sims to learn horse riding skill on ponies (add ponies).  Trade mini animals for wrapped cuts.
  15. for rent: Add cross compatibility with get to work retail stores so that sims can own a residential rental that acts as a live - in business.
  16. outdoor retreat: Add fly fishing skill with craftable lures and add wildlife encounters to hiking interaction.
  17. spa day: Add aromatherapy skill for making craftable massage oils and incense sticks (with optional ingredients). 
  18. dine out: Allow restaurants to take carryout and delivery orders, add hire able delivery NPC, add bars and cafes to buyable restaurant menu, add interaction to ask household members to fill staff position (without needing to be hired). 
  19. currently no suggestions for vampires, parenthood, jungle adventures, or strangerville.
  20. realm of magic: add mini/counter - top cauldron. Add craftable wands and brooms at woodworking table.
  21. batuu: allow all sims to have lightsaber duels.
  22. no suggestions for dream home decorator and my wedding stories.
  23. werewolves: add coldcuts to homestyle cooking recipe (use wrapped meat/faux meat ingredient).
  24. no suggestions for luxury party or perfect partio,
  25. cool kitchen: add milkshake blender and milkshake recipes. Add rolled ice cream appliance and recipes. Add optional ingredients to ice cream appliances.
  26. movie hangout: add cinema community venue, add corn harvestable, add optional ingredients to popcorn maker.
  27. kids room: add remote control cars, trains, planes, and boats as functional toys, add void critters video game to consoles, computers, tablets, and cellphones, and add void critters arcade machine (all for teen to elder sims to enjoy void critters).
  28. bowling night: add bowling alley community venue.
  29. fitness: add more types of headphones/earbuds.
  30. toddler: add functional swings for toddlers.
  31. my first pets: add pet birds in bird cages.
  32. nifty knitting: add victorian and medieval crafting recipes. add better compatibility with get to work retail stores/mannequins.
  33. home chef: add OTG brick pizza oven appliance. Add food sales truck.
  34. crystal creations: add more craftable jewelry styles (medieval, victorian, modern).
  • Can I add adding more date activities like go to the spa and go bowling to that list? I love the Lovestruck pack, but I was disappointed it didn't come with more dating activities.

  • I think it would be nice if vampires could drink plasma from the big farm animals too. Horses, cows, llamas, they could be kept for just this purpose or they could sneak into neighbor's barns at night for a snack.

  • QGeologist's avatar
    QGeologist
    Seasoned Newcomer

    Honestly it feels like EA has gone the way of Bethesda, they release buggy half finished games/DLC and then expect modders to fix everything. It's lazy and super rude to modders. I really wish they'd look back at Sims 3 for the level of polish and cross-pack inteactions they had back then.

  • EgonVM's avatar
    EgonVM
    Seasoned Ace

    Oh hey, I've made such discussion years back! Here it is!

    Just some feedback to your ideas:

    • Get to Work: Ok, the smaller cupcake factory idea (even though cupcake factory is a base game object) but that's because despite the ability to make cupcakes without a cupcake factory has been brought to the base game, some baking recipes that require the cupcake factory haven't.
    • Get Together: I'm against Barista branch for Culinary career for one simple reason: Barista career already exists as a part-time job. Still, if Get Together were to make it semi-active, I'd be on board.
    • Eco Lifestyle: While dye is sort of craftable (throwing death flower into a recycling machine produces a Grim dye), I agree.
    • High School Years: This expansion pack needs a lot more... I'd like a newspaper club too for example. And make the photo booth, football, and escape window usable for children too. And add an ability to children to order boba tea. Seriously, it gave me a little alcoholic vibe otherwise!
    • For Rent: The multi-lot idea has been suggested many times and they have said that they're seeing how it could be done.
    • Spa Day: I'd leave this game pack alone for now as it got its refresh...
    • With stuff packs, I doubt they add more, but would be nice.
  • PandoraTO's avatar
    PandoraTO
    Seasoned Vanguard
    pandacookiesims wrote:

    island living: Add mining interaction to beach cave. Add shaved ice appliance for tropical fruits. Add clam shell collectible (scuba diving) with the ability to find pearls in clams and sell them or use them to craft jewelry at gemology table.

    Same as with your suggestion about aliens: make mermaids an actual occult with powers, ranks, and perks. Also, give them a unique urn/tombstone, like every other occult has. 

  • I actually agree. I feel like a lot of the systems in place need a complete rework and update, especially the older packs. It would do a lot to foster growth and rebuild the damage that EA did to a lot of players.

    I understand why they made a lot of occults into Game Packs, but it annoys me because it crippled them for no reason. It also makes no sense when they tied some occults into other expansion packs (aliens/mermaids). These two don’t even really feel like occults, they feel like an afterthought.

    Vampires, for example, should have been more and I am furious that they were released in the state they were. Especially now that other things released and you’re just like, “Wow, that should’ve been in the vampires pack.” It feels like they sliced core aspects of the pack to make it fit into something lesser. Going from the Sims 3 vampires to the Sims 4 is… rough. An active nightlife, clubs, bars, dives, high-end mansions, a huge world, interesting characters. Instead, we get a dark and gloomy world (which is cool, but so limited), boring characters, and nothing to tie the vampires into the things that make them standout. They are literally closed from the world as a whole. The Build/Buy is restricted, the CAS is restricted, and the gameplay is subpar for what it could have been. Vampires could’ve had a dungeon-ish aesthetic, secret walls (like from the Sims 3 World Adventures) where you interact with an item to reveal the doorway in the wall. The storytelling could’ve been so much better, too. It feels like they read a fanfiction of Twilight and were like, “Poggers, let’s go!”

    I can think up hundreds of ideas for all the occults. Every single one.

    I would not be against a supernatural expansion pack that facelifted all the occults (and added a new one). I know this goes against the theme of the post, but you know. They won't do this for free.

    • pandacookiesims's avatar
      pandacookiesims
      Rising Adventurer

      EA downgraded the franchise a lot between sims 3 generation and sims 4. I briefly played sims 3 and what I remember is that DLCs were better developed and more in - depth. Current DLCs don't measure up. EA's persistent use of  rabbithole interactions is one example of how they're diminishing gameplay and functionality in the sims 4. University life for sims 3 was way better than the current discover university. Students actually attended lectures and study groups and participated in various campus activities. EA seems to be driving some ridiculous release schedule for packs, ignoring quality control and customer satisfaction. The game becomes terribly bugged around patch updates and EA sits around while modders clean up the mess. I imagine EA realized some of their customer base was no longer supporting DLCs and instead, supporting modders. They started all these gimmicks to draw people's interest back to DLCs. Frankly, I'm not sure how their development team operates, but if they simply tested their packs more thoroughly before release, resolved bugs, and put out decent content, they wouldn't have a problem.

      • shorty943p's avatar
        shorty943p
        New Traveler

        "Frankly, I'm not sure how their development team operates, but if they simply tested their packs more thoroughly before release, resolved bugs, and put out decent content, they wouldn't have a problem."

         

         

        Ah yes, the old dream.

        Sadly to a coder, only writing code is fun, Not, Bug hunting and fixing.

        To a coder, if the code compiles, it's good code. It doesn't actually have to work as planned. Just compile.

        And testing? that's for code testers not coder writers.

        Oh for joy, we the lucky customer also get to pay to test their bad code.

        Goes back to waiting for good news about the latest update.

  • I would love to see them iron out the bugs ( at least most of them) before they continue to release more expansions. It doesn't matter to me how long that will take as long as it's being done 🙏i wish and want them to take the time even if mean years🍪🌸 I can just say by experience from have been playing bigger games that it gives more fun to login to a game that has minor bugs then facing something that is barely holding together. I still root for the team because i think they are talented🙏🤟

  • Additionally, since the sims 5 is not launching and the sims 4 will continue to receive content updates, bug fixes are even more important. Adding more cross - pack compatibility and pack refreshes will allow EA to resolve some long - standing issues with current packs. Frankly, I just want bugs to get fixed. A lot of modders been making bug fixes because EA isn't resolving them in a timely fashion. While I'm sure they have their own agenda, the accumulation of bug makes new DLC launches so unstable, because new glitches tend to get stacked on top of existing glitches and makes the game unplayable in some circumstances. The QOL of the game deteriorates and yet to maintain player interest, EA started the live events gimmick. So now players want to log on to get items. 

    THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO KEEP INSTISTING THAT EA FIX BUGS. THAT IS MOST ESSENTIAL TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.