Salvadorada map!

"FreezerBunnyCowplant;c-16325551" wrote:
This reminds me of Sims 2 Castaway for PS2 so much! :)
Loved that game!

Also they made a really BIG world this time and I'm totally impressed! It's only a Game Pack!
I'd be happy to see more of the technology they used in this world in future worlds.

That, plus the fact - if I understand correctly - there are seven temple venues. If they are all resettable in completely new ways (not just loot but, like, everything in there) I will be so happy! Think I am sold already by the way, the temples must be really bad not to and I don’t have any reason to believe they are. If they are as good as the world, I must have it for my game and try it out.

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

"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.

"Dannydanbo;c-16326671" wrote:
I may be wrong, but I believe there is only one temple. There are quite a few "gates" to hack through to get to other areas where there are things to explore and discover. I'm guessing all of these change or reset with every visit so new treasures or pop-ups are displayed. We have yet to see the actual temple. That will be next Friday.

I thought the pop-up about the sloths was funny because it sounded as though they got frightened and left quickly and sloths are not very fast at all. I pictured a group of sloths all moving in slow motion, away from the area.

Also, did anyone else notice that the machete can be "used up"? I guess it has a limited number of hacks and must be replaced at some point.

I also think there is only this one big tomb lot (which is the pyramid) but there also must be at least another hidden lot: when you look at the map you can see these hidden pools above the pyramid.
This must be a hidden lot, unless they somewhere managed to put swimmable pools into public space. :D (which I doubt)

About the machete: I also think it can be used up and saw that machetes actually are in the inventory of a Sim. :)
I'm wondering where we get machetes tho? I didn't saw a stand selling them at the cantina...

"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.

Quote content removed - EA_Mage

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.