Salvadorada map!

"simgirl1010;c-16326546" wrote:

"JoAnne65;c-16326342" wrote:

Yes, but so far my hopes are really up. Also because of those backdrops, they do care *wipes away emotional tear* ;)

What have you done with the real @JoAnne65 ? :p

Oh it is me haha. It’s just that I love to see how they made changes in areas I had/have serious issues with, which makes me confindent they are in fact listening to whiners complainers critics ;) Plus WA happens to be one of my favourite packs, I will love that kind of gameplay in any Sims game. And another reason I’m more confident is that I see 7 temples (thought there would be 1). If each one has let’s say 3 or 4 different scenarios, that will mean gameplay!

I think this GP is hopefully a good sign that future packs will be even better. :) I'm excited to see what else they have in store.

"JoAnne65;c-16325483" wrote:
And the fact it appears to be an actual map, which will contribute to its open feel. Backdrops making sense. This may not be important to everyone but it sure is to me. Curious for the temples.

This is something that I would say for the people that argue it isn't important, they've probably never had a game that did it.

Dark Souls got praise because if you actually catalog the world and create a map of it, the map is internally consistent. You'll traverse the world and realize you can see ruins flooded with lava from a dark graveyard area, and the thing is that actually is to scale and aligns 100% with what you would actually expect to see at that location. The whole effect adds to the immersion and realism of the world while also making it a bit more fun to explore since you never know what connections you might find.

Dark Souls 2 was not as well-received as the original, and one of the major points in the game that sparked mixed and negative reviews was that part of the game had you climbing to the top of a giant windmill on a hill, taking an elevator at the top of the windmill up, and then when you emerge from the elevator, you immediately find yourself looking at a castle sinking into a sea of lava. Sure enough, people tried the same map cataloging for the game and it simply makes no sense. Check the comments in both vids and you'll see what I mean, as many of the comments are years old (Dark Souls 2's release) and indeed complain about the loss of an internally consistent world.

I personally like the neighborhoods where I can see plenty of neighboring lots and dislike ones where it's all an illusion. I mentioned this pack's world impressed me and I hadn't been impressed by a world since Windenburg. Coincidentally, Windenburg has a huge neighborhood where Partihaus lives that connects both some residential lots with downtown businesses, despite them being a decent distance apart. I like that though because that neighborhood is filled to the brim with real locations you can interact with, instead of being tiny with a bunch of fake setpieces blocking your view and trying to give the impression the world is bigger than it is, even when the illusion seems to make no sense with what should be there.

@DeservedCriticism Sims 2 did it too. I really hope this means they realize actual maps are important.

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Oh, I don't know about that. :) I'm still not sold on SPs and I don't think that they can compare on any level to a pack like, say, Vampires, or Parenthood. They're just not in the same league to me. However, I absolutely am on board with larger budgets for GPs and EPs.

Note: One of these days I may get the quoting thing right on the first try. :/ ::sigh::

"DeservedCriticism;c-16326756" wrote:


This is something that I would say for the people that argue it isn't important, they've probably never had a game that did it.

Yes.

This is something that has bothered me about this game for the longest time. The world maps make no sense and most of it is fiction. I'm pleased to see that the JA team took the criticism about that to heart.

It was mentioned on the live stream that many people were afraid that the world would be mostly set dressing. I was certainly one of them. I looked at that grand vista from the top of the mountain in the teaser trailer and all I could say was: "Pffffft, just like the view from the bluffs in WB or from one of the buildings in CL -- all smoke and mirrors. What a wonderful surprise to find out that, in this case, we can go to the places that we see.

I know that some of us are not as enthusiastic about TS4 as others. We get called Negative Nancys and get no end of shade. However, if it weren't for criticism, there would be no improvement. Just sayin'. I'm glad that the GP team seems to be not only listening, but they are internalizing legitimate criticism and trying to make things better. That is the mark of a team that cares. If the company gets behind them, gives them what they need, TS4 could eventually become something wonderful.

"JoAnne65;c-16326858" wrote:
@DeservedCriticism Sims 2 did it too. I really hope this means they realize actual maps are important.

For me it's also a sign the devs care. Even if someone didn't appreciate it as a feature directly, I'd argue such a feature is a good tell-tale sign the devs are doing their best to create a quality product. Using Dark Souls as an example again, part of the reason it's considered an iconic game is because every setpiece, every item, every piece of scenery and every bit of the world had a story or contributed to a story. It's a game where it's fascinating to explore because some random stone pillar you found in some ruins might have profound implications for the lore of the world. Such a story is not created by people that just want to develop a game and get money, but by those with the passion to coordinate such a story.

I look at the world and think "the GP team still cares." I know people will disagree and won't like me saying it, but....I wish someone could take some screenshots, but I remember being absolutely shocked at how bad the biggest mansion in Brindleton Bay is. It has no decorations, it has loads of empty space, and it just feels like they honestly didn't care or built it in the last three minutes of development. It is the absolute bare minimum in terms of effort and is honestly downright ugly with how empty or bland it was. Compare it to Vlad's house in Vampires and I think it's no contest. I look at that mansion in Brindleton Bay and it just leads me to believe the EP team honestly just doesn't care, and sure enough I hold out zero hopes for ever seeing an EP I like. With GPs though...? Here I am. I still don't know if I'll buy it, but considering I'm currently distracted playing another great game and I still bother to keep tabs on what the GP team is doing...? Yeah, as I was saying: people notice the difference between passion projects and things just made for money or because it's expected of you, and they're absolutely more likely to buy the passion projects.

@DeservedCriticism in regards to the environment of BB and Vampires, it may be the same team who does both.

If I recall correctly, in the stream they referred to the team who created the world as the “environment” team. Not sure if there’s an environment team for each pack or one team that does all worlds for all packs. Further, Windenburg lots and CL apartments are better furnished than those of BB, so not really sure what happened there. If anything it points to time constraints.

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That is definitely also true, yes, and certainly part of the "problem". Like I said, I enjoy the EPs a lot, it's not really a criticism on the packs as such, just a little unease about the way they're announced/explained to us. There just tends to be more scarcity of information in between official EP live streams. Although it's also true that SGNinja's personality meshes rather well with the community, so perhaps he does feel more comfortable coming here & talking to people, I really dunno. But you're right, there's definitely two (mutually reinforcing) sides to this story :)

On topic, I am completely in love with the jungle map. The aesthetic is deeply pleasing and the new mechanics of uncovering unknown areas and having a prominent variety of terrain levels is something I never expected but I'm really excited to explore. <3

The aesthetic of the map is indeed amazing! The way they've implemented movement & restriction here feels very very fun. Just can't wait to go explore :D

Also, anyone else have the feeling that they've used some textures (/inspiration) from C&D (like on the bridges, for example)? Kinda reminds me of that! I also love the wooden structures in C&D, they look better than other wooden textures we'd seen before in TS4, like this here f.ex.:

C&D
https://i.imgur.com/31dKtO1.png

Jungle Adventure
https://i.imgur.com/qYjeT00.png

I like the map size. I also really appreciate that they acknowledged the fake backdrop issue.

I'm very curious about the temple though and the question mark areas. I hope there is a lot of game play in there and less of the multiple choice scenarios. They are ok outside in the world but wouldn't want them in the temple.