Scenarios Feedback
Saw this tweet by SimGuruDuck today: https://twitter.com/SimGuruDuck/status/1456794189216108554?s=20 and since I was checking out short term scenarios (I'm too bad with earning money in Sims to ev...
Forum Discussion
My interest in timed scenarios is ZERO. One reason I have stopped playing mobile games is because they invariably try to make me drop whatever else I might be doing just so I can focus on their particular game. I do not live like that. I have varied interests and a life outside a particular game. I love sandbox play because I can stop and start whenever I want, with no ramifications.
I find the current scenarios boring because they force me into completing a list of "to do's" that I may not wish to do. It reminds me very much of the weddings, where you much finish a certain set of actions within a limited time. I hate that. (I just want a beautiful wedding party without the threat of "failure" at the end, just because I did not want to have X number of drinks.)
A challenge scenario should be customizable to account for different play styles. The lovely thing about player driven challenges is that they are open ended and concept driven. People can use existing games or start fresh. They can take years to finish or rush through in a week. They can stop and start at any time if they come across something new, but still pick up where they left off anytime they choose. That is what makes it fun. The game is still sandbox.
I was thinking about what kind of scenario I might actually enjoy playing, because I am not a person who would generally start one of the player driven challenges. I think what might tempt me would be a scenario that was already set up with new characters who had predetermined traits, skills, etc that played into the scenario, and who already lived on a lot that also played into the challenge of the scenario.
I am unsure how it could be implemented, other than a download from the gallery for the family and also the house, both of which would then be placed in a save, prior to the scenario button being pressed, and that would set skill, relationship, and lot challenge settings. It likely would take more complicated coding, but would feel more like an actual scenario. It would also give us the option to add the scenario to an existing save or to a new save.
Adding new lot challenges to the game would make it possible to spice up a unique scenario and also give us additional mix and match lot challenges for our other saves, which would add to game play. That way the coding would serve more than one purpose, and be more "worth it" in terms of time and effort. So, a win-win.
After the scenario was over, we would have a new family in the game, with a back story that we helped make. Each new scenario would be a new family added to our game, eventually making a rich social environment of sims we had a real interest in knowing, when we played our favorite regular sims.
EA might even give us a new "scenario world" that all the new families and lots could be plugged into. That would be fun to fill, over time. And it would add more empty lots to the game, for the players who do not like scenario game play. Again, a win-win.
I would also like scenarios to have unlocks. Certain conditions would need to be met to unlock something in the scenario. The unlock would be some benefit that makes it easier to reach the goal. The conditions need not be a "to do" list situation. Just mini goals within the bigger goal. Not something that necessarily HAD to be done, but an option to make it easier or more fun. And the unlock would have to be accepted, so if someone did not want to use it, they would not have to accept. I realize this means more coding, but it would definitely reduce tedium for longer scenarios.
My ideas are likely too complex, but scenarios the way they have been presented are just not fun for me. I tried two, and they were so unsatisfactory that I do not plan to play any more of them. Unless something changes to tempt me.
I find the current scenarios boring because they force me into completing a list of "to do's" that I may not wish to do. It reminds me very much of the weddings, where you much finish a certain set of actions within a limited time. I hate that. (I just want a beautiful wedding party without the threat of "failure" at the end, just because I did not want to have X number of drinks.)
A challenge scenario should be customizable to account for different play styles. The lovely thing about player driven challenges is that they are open ended and concept driven. People can use existing games or start fresh. They can take years to finish or rush through in a week. They can stop and start at any time if they come across something new, but still pick up where they left off anytime they choose. That is what makes it fun. The game is still sandbox.
I was thinking about what kind of scenario I might actually enjoy playing, because I am not a person who would generally start one of the player driven challenges. I think what might tempt me would be a scenario that was already set up with new characters who had predetermined traits, skills, etc that played into the scenario, and who already lived on a lot that also played into the challenge of the scenario.
I am unsure how it could be implemented, other than a download from the gallery for the family and also the house, both of which would then be placed in a save, prior to the scenario button being pressed, and that would set skill, relationship, and lot challenge settings. It likely would take more complicated coding, but would feel more like an actual scenario. It would also give us the option to add the scenario to an existing save or to a new save.
Adding new lot challenges to the game would make it possible to spice up a unique scenario and also give us additional mix and match lot challenges for our other saves, which would add to game play. That way the coding would serve more than one purpose, and be more "worth it" in terms of time and effort. So, a win-win.
After the scenario was over, we would have a new family in the game, with a back story that we helped make. Each new scenario would be a new family added to our game, eventually making a rich social environment of sims we had a real interest in knowing, when we played our favorite regular sims.
EA might even give us a new "scenario world" that all the new families and lots could be plugged into. That would be fun to fill, over time. And it would add more empty lots to the game, for the players who do not like scenario game play. Again, a win-win.
I would also like scenarios to have unlocks. Certain conditions would need to be met to unlock something in the scenario. The unlock would be some benefit that makes it easier to reach the goal. The conditions need not be a "to do" list situation. Just mini goals within the bigger goal. Not something that necessarily HAD to be done, but an option to make it easier or more fun. And the unlock would have to be accepted, so if someone did not want to use it, they would not have to accept. I realize this means more coding, but it would definitely reduce tedium for longer scenarios.
My ideas are likely too complex, but scenarios the way they have been presented are just not fun for me. I tried two, and they were so unsatisfactory that I do not plan to play any more of them. Unless something changes to tempt me.
