Changes to the Sims console controls affecting disability

Now also receiving reports that the new Sims 4 controls are causing a lot of problems and frustration for a young loved one with dyspraxia. I bought it for them along with several packs for Xmas 2021.

They are not on the forum and I was the purchaser anyway so I'm adding it here on their behalf.

I'm astounded that so far we've had radio silence on this debacle.

Forgive me for saying so but the accessibility promises are just that, promises not actions, at least based on the current situation. My game is now painful and difficult to play and so far we have faced a wall of silence.

WE WANT ANSWERS!! SIMS TEAM!! WE MATTER!

I'm sorry but I'm appalled that there has been no response.

I've never known a company shut customers out of their own purchase and ignore their duty of care to disabled customers. I find the silence to be almost hostile as if we are speaking out of turn or stirring the pot.

Can disabled players be acknowledged please? I don't expect a public statement admitting what has been done wrong, I'm just asking for some dialogue here. Some explanation of when this will be fixed. I find new bugs every day. Even the enlarged pointer isn't functional, it won't grab. My hands aren't steady enough to use it as you need to use pinpoint precision. I can't physically do that. It took me way longer than it should just to delete a flowerbed the other day I was close to tears.

This was my most expensive entertainment purchase and it costs a lot to be disabled. It's taken me years, I have about 55 add-ons. I can't throw that money down the drain. I'd take a break but I only just got it working again after months of crashing.

Can someone please reply with details of the planned way forward and just let us know we are seen, at the very least? 4 weeks of non engagement is just too long, especially for the disabled. I didn't actually think it was allowed. In my former government career it was law actually to respond before 5 days and settle the matter within 28 days. I used to be responsible for diversity, equal opportunities and accessibility for over a hundred staff members, including carrying out occupational health assessments on workstations and I would never let a situation like this go on without discussions taking place and giving some reassurance. I'm not saying I demand you make this game accessible to me now, I'm saying the changes have caused too many faults and complex processes and it needs to be resolved. I've said the same thing on the relevant thread since day one and on the discussion thread too but with no responses to any of us actually.

Thank you for starting this thread. I really feel that disabled players are being ignored, ironically, at the same time that The Sims 4 is being praised for it's inclusivity. 

EA states:

"EA’s Accessibility Team aims to lessen the gap between capability and disability by breaking down barriers that prevent play."

https://www.ea.com/able

Players are informing EA that the new controls are preventing them from playing due to their disability. 

I would also like to ask whether there are any Accessibility Resources for The Sims 4?

https://www.ea.com/able/resources 

I think most of the consumer frustration stems from the lack of communication. There has been no response or acknowledgement to the overwhelmingly negative feed back and I find that really unprofessional. 

Hi, Sims Team!

I understand that you’re not allowed to make promises on the forums until the code is certain to drop. But I think it would help a lot if you followed up to say that you’ve seen the thread, you’re sorry to hear the new controls have had this effect, and that it’s being discussed internally.

(Also, while this doesn’t affect me personally, as a PC player whose main issue is bad eyesight, I winced at the description of someone’s hands cramping into claws. OWWWWW!!!!!!)

Please consider updating the controls, or adding more accessibility features so they’re not as difficult for our differently-abled console players to use. 

I've mentioned this on the console controls feedback thread but persevering with build mode is becoming more difficult and I'm having to limit the rest of my screen time for the rest of the day. About 10 or 20 minutes of it is sometimes enough to set off vertigo. Building has never done this. The camera suddenly bouncing over platforms and decking, BB menu blocking the view and making it necessary to occasionally view the building process looking down on it added to the flickering of the broken undo/redo function are the cause. My eyes are so irritated from it I use saline drops regularly throughout building. Even short stints.

The broken controls thread was recently marked as "Solved" so imagine my frustration that no solution has been presented yet. It's finally reached the gaming media which is great in one way, but sad in another because I'm proud of our inclusive game.. or at least I was until it stopped including me.

You might think I should just wait till it's fixed, like others but I've spent so much money on it and it's my main hobby. I try to take it so carefully but it's still horrible. I've found a trick to get the old scrolling method to work and that helps a lot so I kept going and tried to balance out building time. I've had kind offers of pre made solutions from PC players but gallery builds cause error codes unfortunately, I can only add my builds and not download.

As a former equal opportunities officer I've said this before but I just don't understand how disabled customers have not been seen. I didn't think that was legal. It's not in the UK, that I do know. In my old government career I had to make accessibility a priority. I felt bitter as a console customer but I feel even more bitter as a disabled player. But I'm one of the more fortunate, my disabilities are just painful and affect dexterity, grip and occasionally balance too. I've spoken to people with much worse conditions who have had to stop playing their expensive game. I'm not asking for anything special for my disability. All I asked for was a quick sell function in the household inventory and quicker scrolling/outfit choices in CAS (which was ignored) and I was the first to answer the controller feedback request last year. CAS is another problem as every category is sticking more now and I have to keep pressing Back and reselecting categories that are stuck. Now all any of us are asking for is our original controls back. Nothing special, nothing huge.

EA/Maxis do better please. I love this product and have done since Sims 1 but I don't feel the love back right now.

Edit: Another new repetitive clicking issue is caused by the menu constantly changing itself. For example choose a plant from Indoor Plants thats also a wall plant and it switches to Wall Decorations, choose a wall plant from Wall Decorations and it switches to Indoor Plants. Choose by room and it switches to item aisles/sorts, and so on. I constantly have to switch back to the category I was using. It adds so much extra clicking and scrolling.

@xochiquetzl_xkvn thanks so much for supporting this thread, this is why we have such a great community here.

Here bc I’m also a disabled player and these console changes are horrific. I’m also disgusted (but not surprised) to see that the sims developers aren’t paying attention to us. Who cares if my sim has the option for hearing aids if real people with real disabilities can hardly play the game anymore?!? Obviously, everyone on the development team is able bodied bc this is ridiculous.