Carl talks about the new kits

I love Carl, but I disagree with him. I like the kits. I think it’s a great way to add a smaller amount of CAS, BB, or gameplay to the game for not a lot of money but if I decide to skip out on something I won’t feel like I am going to miss out on a major feature.

Hm. I am mixed, like on kits in general. I like the idea of using them as a solution to content droughts and the gameplay centered kits seem like a good thing I would be able to stack at a "discounted" rate for a more complex game, if you will. This is especially true if it really does not take away from the other packs.

However, I personally do not feel CAS kits are worth $5 from Throwback's example. If CAS is your entire game, maybe, but I paid the DLC fees for more rounded content. The only way I could imagine CAS kits being worth it is if they added new features to CAS, like body hair. Which I do not think is impossible, but it was not exemplified here. The more I experimented, the more unconvinced I became of new clothes alone keeping the game fresh.

I appreciate the pick and choose nature of kits, but clothing kits in particular seem low value even in mixing things up. I am still torn on the BB kits. I need one to show up that is a theme I am not interested in because I have wanted something like country kitchen for a long while. Then I will really be able to judge it properly.

My first reaction was that I didn't like the idea of many kits being released at the same time and I was afraid that it would happen regularly. I know myself, I don't use CC and I always want to have more CAS and B&B items, I knew I'd like to buy them all and I'd have to make hard decisions, I couldn't afford to buy them all. Luckily they're just going to release the kits one at a time from now on. It's a relief.
I ended up buying all three kits this time and I like them all, I have use for a lot of the items.

I like the Kits. I love the Sims 4 and I'm always open to having new things in the game. I don't think the price of the kits is that bad and whether or not a pack is worth the cost is completely subjective. I keep seeing people say that the throw back kit is not worth the price because it's only CAS items but I've bought far more expensive packs in the past just for the CAS items. CAS is a part of the game that I actually love to expand on and I'm happy with what we got in the throw back kit.

I don’t watch his reviews anymore. However, I personally have 2 views on the kit.

The pros are;
1. It’s an alternative option for those who can’t afford buying other packs, but want to have some add on to their games.
2. It allows the players to customise their own game by having an option to opt out features that they feel unnecessary.

However, the cons are;
1. It could serve as a micro transaction when we have more kits than the packs.
2. Since the kits will have 3 different aspects of the game (gameplay, BB, & CAS), it’s actually cost more than the SP if one bought all 3 at the same time.

"xamira99;c-17822608" wrote:
I don’t watch his reviews anymore. However, I personally have 2 views on the kit.

The pros are;
1. It’s an alternative option for those who can’t afford buying other packs, but want to have some add on to their games.
2. It allows the players to customise their own game by having an option to opt out features that they feel unnecessary.

However, the cons are;
1. It could serve as a micro transaction when we have more kits than the packs.
2. Since the kits will have 3 different aspects of the game (gameplay, BB, & CAS), it’s actually cost more than the SP if one bought all 3 at the same time.

Not to mention that if CC makers are contributing, EA has more time to focus on bugs, improvements, and new things.

@Sharonia I agree with you about these value judgements being subjective and I am glad you like Throwback, but a CAS kit with just clothes feels like a BB kit with just clutter to me. It is still a subjective value judgement for how well you will use that clutter or clothing, but I felt it went beyond simply lacking because of the limited nature of the items.

Speaking as someone that bought Throwback, I accept and appreciate the need for expanding CAS. However, Throwback was devoid of new accessories, tattoos, hair, jewelry, or makeup. Much less anything new like body hair. I will admit we got a few hats, but I just would have expected more out of a CAS focused pack. I do not think clothing alone can keep my game fresh.

The variety could improve in the future, but the first three kits were designed and debuted together to give us an idea of what all the others will look like. So, I am still mixed on kits. I am glad you enjoy Throwback.

I think I agree with him.

It's difficult to not believe that one of the reasons why they made kits was to make more money, even if they will be able to offer more unique content during droughts. This is more expensive than normal packs and some of the items does not feel that unique to me.

I never felt that it was actually a problem that I could not buy specific items from packs without buying the entire pack either. I never wanted to buy just the solar panels from Eco Lifestyle for example, I wanted the whole gameplay experience.

So I have mixed feelings about kits, It's not the direction that I wanted to see the sims4 go towards, I wanted to personalize the game on a more deeper level with more customization and gameplay features. Not bite-sized content.

For me personally, I find them fun. I normally would spend that same amount on coffee or breakfast/etc when I was at work in person most weeks--those were done within an hour or two and this I have lasting gameplay with.

I understand the anger/frustration and that money doesn't grow on trees, greediness etc.

I do think the price point is a bit greedy, though the concept of kits is interesting. I play Sims 4 to destress from every day life and my anxiety disorders. Gameplay and building are my loves with this game. These kits give me more of that. Plus if CC makers collaborate in the future that would be really interesting to see!

I absolutely believe that these are ideas that they wouldn't have explored otherwise for many reasons. They could be popular ideas or more niche ideas.
We know they go to the table and chose an idea, they brainstorm it, figure out how much can fit in it budget wise. They have shown us what they do by involving us in the development process for certain stuff packs. Sure some ideas might have fit well or at least okay in other packs but then maybe we wouldn't get something else.... like maybe sandcastle building was up against something else in the Island Living Pack but they decided to go with that instead of the something else. Things do have to be cut. To think otherwise is naive at best.
So they probably have all these ideas that made it so far but either just had to be cut or were rejected outright. For all we know Snowy Escape might have been weighed against an Alpine Mountain pack first. Ideas were probably tossed around until they figured out what they thought would serve the game best. This even includes styles for clothing and furniture that some simmers might like. It makes sense to me.
I'm not sure a driving force is content drought... it's kind of late in the game for that, unless things are being tidied up? Or the profit is so good that why not put out every idea we can while fans are buying. It is a business. Thing is as a simmer that loves the Sims 4, I am pleased about filling in the spaces of content drought. I'm also pleased that I might get little themes that I might not have gotten before the game ended. So it does sound good that that could be a reason and really I think the developers are grand people that actually do want to give us as much of what we want as they can for this series. Provided what is wanted actually works with the current game. I'm also pretty sure that whoever is above them has to have the final say about where kits could actually exist or not.. and that comes down to money.
Personally I'm kind of hoping kits will stay around even when the big packs end, both to keep the live service and bug repairs going and to keep getting that content that never made it into a bigger pack. Nothing wrong with picking and choosing at this point. If it keeps the game alive longer when it's over. In the long run that amounts to player satisfaction and more sales. People have not been happy about the way some of the prior games wrapped up. Maybe there will be a slightly different and possible better turn with this one when it finishes.