Electronic Arts is preparing for the future, and one that is increasingly focused on streaming and cloud technology."At EA, we envision a future in which games go even further beyond the immersive experiences players enjoy today," Moss said. "I'm talking about games that offer living, breathing worlds that constantly evolve. You'll play them one day, and when you come back the next, things have changed based on inputs from other players, AI, and even the real world. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-has-1000-people-working-on-a-ridiculously-ambit/1100-6462918/?ftag=GSS-05-10aab8e&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5bda490a1adf640001f82c03&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Glad their preparing for cloud tech. That's a better way of saving our games.

Oh yay, more always-online stuff that people didn't ask for. As if the Olympus and Simcity debacles weren't enough.If the next Sims game focuses heavily on other players making changes to my game, at least I'll know to save my money

Thanks for sharing the article @simgirl1010 :) The engine aspect of Project Atlas will see EA further unify its engine work to focus even more on the Frostbite engine- I can see that the direction that the EA is going is to establish their cross-platform technology & products, which means, for any future development for The Sims franchise will go along the same direction. I'm totally fine with that, but, how are they going to maintain the same quality for all platforms? We were told that due to performance issue, they can't do this & that... So, I'm a bit skeptical about it... On the "services" front, EA has big plans to deepen the "social capabilities" of its games, and this includes advancements to how you meet up with and spend time with other players in games, as well as sharing content captured in those games to the wider world. For matchmaking specifically, Moss said EA is making changes to allow for a more personalised experience that pulls from data you share with EA. Moss stressed that EA is being mindful of respecting player privacy.- I like this idea, but, for The Sims specially, I would like to have an option to immerse in my own virtual world, but at the same time, I can also interact with the other players when I want to... like most MMO games out there... For example, like WOW where I can choose to play solo or with a team... I'm not really into data sharing, although it could be good in personalising individual experience... but, I would not like it if it's only meant for marketing purposes..Project Atlas is EA's new streaming and cloud technology, which will allow gamers to play graphics-intensive titles potentially in a browser because the content is streamed and not stored locally. EA is working on a streaming service of its own, but details about subscription pricing, titles, and more have not yet been disclosed. - I'm not against cloud technology, it's good in general as it's saving us a lot of space and will probably optimised our game experience... But, most of the time, I would like to play offline and pull my data locally. And I'm not into paying the subscription, possible upgrade, etc.... And I'm very concern about the security...EA also plans to leverage AI and machine-learning to make significant advancements to the believability of the interactions in its games. NPC behaviour stands to become far more realistic and dynamic, while the commentating in sports games could also get a boost of believability...."Leveraging AI and machine learning will also give game makers the ability to craft in-game interactions with non-playable characters or - NPCs in a way that is virtually indecipherable from a human interaction," Moss said. "So, instead of a pre-scripted, pattern-based logic for NPC behavior, this would make it possible for an NPC to engage in a way that is dynamic, contextual, and absolutely believable. - I personally like this idea as it's one of my research topics that I would like to explore in the future... The dynamic interaction is probably one of the best feature that EA could actually integrate in The Sims.. And with the new development of VR, I think it will be the best combo in the new gaming industry... But, in the end, I hope that we'll not immerse in the virtual world too much... :D

Admittedly, using machine learning for better AI sounds impressive (although it's expensive on processing power right now on EA's end, especially if it requires constant retraining to adapt), but the other online parts like cloud and streaming integration are a bit iffy to me, if only because of past experiences with online integration. Plus it's EA, so this sounds like another reason for microtransactions to creep into their games.

"icmnfrsh;c-16807992" wrote:Admittedly, using machine learning for better AI sounds impressive (although it's expensive on processing power right now on EA's end, especially if it requires constant retraining to adapt), but the other online parts like cloud and streaming integration are a bit iffy to me, if only because of past experiences with online integration. Plus it's EA, so this sounds like another reason for microtransactions to creep into their games.Couldn't agree more.. :D

EA Project Atlas | EA Forums

catitude5
6 years ago
Didn't we make it clear that most of us don't want other people in our game? I don't care what else you do, but I don't want to come back and someone has done something to my game that I don't want.
LaBlue0314
Rising Scout
6 years ago
Thanks but no thanks, I'll pass on this.
StevieJohn88
6 years ago
"icmnfrsh;c-16807979" wrote:
Oh yay, more always-online stuff that people didn't ask for. As if the Olympus and Simcity debacles weren't enough.

If the next Sims game focuses heavily on other players making changes to my game, at least I'll know to save my money

I agree. I don't personally want that. And I don't like the idea of my saves being saved onto the cloud. I want to be able to back them up on usb at the very least as I don't trust there won't be server issues where you won't be able to access your game for hours/days. I'm really not a fan of games that force online features onto you. It's ok of they are there and optional but I don't want to be forced into having to use them.
Cynna1065
6 years ago
This forced online stuff is too much for me.

EA wants total control? That's fine. However, the one thing that they can't control is my right index finger. That's the finger that I'll use to shut their whole mess down, just before I find something else to spend my money on.
Jayel-1
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
Not for me thank you.
As has been said before, Sims time is ME time.
neylajc
Seasoned Newcomer
6 years ago
They'll lose 90% of their players if they make Sims multiplayer
timzed_user
6 years ago
"mika;c-16867141" wrote:
They'll lose 90% of their players if they make Sims multiplayer

And sims player who own beefy computers won’t gonna play this game either, assuming that there will be only a few online players present on a world if this actually happens, and considering that a parge portion of their satisfaction relies on the community interaction and socialization via social media sites and fansites.

People are just gonna ignore the people who posts and talk about “The Sims Online” and would just stick with TS4 and previous games. Redditors would immediately downvote any posts that contains TSONLINE in reddit.

And aside from that, the sims wasn’t mainly designed for online multiplayer. Ughhh

I wish that Bethesda, Ubisoft, or Rockstar decided to make a new life simulation game either and maybe even call it “The Zibz”. SMH
AquaGamer1212
New Spectator
6 years ago
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I’m all for online Sims, but it will ONLY work if they go the Minecraft route of single player and multiplayer servers that the PLAYER could create.
keekee53
Seasoned Newcomer
6 years ago
YEAAAAHHHHHHHHH If this happens with the Sims game, I am done for real. I was around for Sims online and that was not fun. I also do not want anyone else in my Sims world or messing with the stories I have created for my Sims. Even if they add a multiplayer option, I am done. They will have to split development time between multiplayer and single player and it has not worked out well for them so far.

We are already seeing the byproduct of adding consoles to the mix with how Del Sol Valley was handled for "performance" reasons.
ulluvtxlady
6 years ago
The Sims franchise will never see another dime of my money if they go this direction. We've told them COUNTLESS times that the majority of us do NOT want an always online, multi-player game. Sims Social was a proof that it does not work. I do not want other people jacking around with my households or my worlds.