I'm not trying to tread on Lenny_Ogg's turf, but this question is a little different. I'm not just asking you how you feel about the Shopping Icon Notification Light, I'm asking you why. Some people just say it's annoying, others are saying it causes problems for people with visual sensitivity. Now, I have ADHD-related light sensitivity problems. I've been known to start crying because a cloudy day turned sunny, but the small glowy yellow circle in the corner of the shopping icon didn't cause any sensory issues for me. It's possible that someone with a completely different type/cause of visual sensitivity would have a problem, even if I don't. I still find this surprising because it's identical to the notification light on the calendar icon, which has been in the game for years.Now, I do find the light annoying, but it's for a different reason. It's kind of like when the phone call icon on my phone shows that I missed a call. I go to check it, and it turns out to be spam call, so I become annoyed because I wasted time checking for a spam call. The notification light on the shopping icon makes me feel like I'm being spammed. So why do you dislike the notification light? Note: I also have options for people who don't care, or who aren't sure.Edit: Option 2 ought to be "avoiding the game or updates" instead of just "avoiding the game."

I haven’t updated my game, and I will refuse for some time longer to do so. So I don’t know if I have this cart-button. I dislike the cart-button in general and my main interest is to get it removed completely. But I can say that even a dot indicating there is news will annoy me, because I am too courious what’s there…. Same with the calendar-light if the indicator shows the calendar is updated I need to take a look, even knowing it can’t be something really important because it’s still an in game calendar….

I'm kinda inbetween. I don't like being spammed, but I *also* don't like that the light is/could be causing issues for some players making them unable to play the game. And in the long run, accessibility issues trumps general annoyance as to why this is a bad idea.

I don't have any medical condition but I find these kind of things distracting. I don't mind adds when I load up the game but once I am in the game I want to focus on playing and this gives me stress. The calendar button constantly indicating new events was also awful. Now I have trained myself to ignore it.

I care for those people who have a condition that makes the shopping cart unbearable. And for that reason I do hope it is removed.For me it's not at all an issue. When I first logged into the game on Tuesday I didn't even notice the shopping cart. After I'd logged out I remembered and logged back in. There it was. But I'd played for a couple of hours without it even registering.Edit to add: Didn't notice the very first option. That would have been my selection. Guess I don't notice a lot of things. I do not have a condition that causes visual senstivity, but it heard it makes the game less accessible, and I find that concerning.

My opinion is the one I voted on & the first one. I don't like that it's not accessible for some folks, but I also dislike it on principle of it just sounding annoying. We've already got plenty of advertisements in game. It needs to go.

Shopping Icon Notification Light

PhillipaErdnuss
Seasoned Newcomer
9 months ago
I haven’t updated my game, and I will refuse for some time longer to do so. So I don’t know if I have this cart-button. I dislike the cart-button in general and my main interest is to get it removed completely. But I can say that even a dot indicating there is news will annoy me, because I am too courious what’s there…. Same with the calendar-light if the indicator shows the calendar is updated I need to take a look, even knowing it can’t be something really important because it’s still an in game calendar….
DaWaterRat
New Vanguard
9 months ago
I'm kinda inbetween. I don't like being spammed, but I *also* don't like that the light is/could be causing issues for some players making them unable to play the game. And in the long run, accessibility issues trumps general annoyance as to why this is a bad idea.
atreya33
Seasoned Ace
9 months ago
I don't have any medical condition but I find these kind of things distracting. I don't mind adds when I load up the game but once I am in the game I want to focus on playing and this gives me stress. The calendar button constantly indicating new events was also awful. Now I have trained myself to ignore it.
simgirl1010
Hero
9 months ago
I care for those people who have a condition that makes the shopping cart unbearable. And for that reason I do hope it is removed.

For me it's not at all an issue. When I first logged into the game on Tuesday I didn't even notice the shopping cart. After I'd logged out I remembered and logged back in. There it was. But I'd played for a couple of hours without it even registering.

Edit to add: Didn't notice the very first option. That would have been my selection. Guess I don't notice a lot of things.

I do not have a condition that causes visual senstivity, but it heard it makes the game less accessible, and I find that concerning.
br0se
9 months ago
My opinion is the one I voted on & the first one. I don't like that it's not accessible for some folks, but I also dislike it on principle of it just sounding annoying. We've already got plenty of advertisements in game. It needs to go.
Simmingal
Hero
9 months ago
I don't know the long term effects as the button is not in my game yet

but from what I have seen I think my main issue personally is that it would be immersion breaking and distracting and spammy which would slowly drive me into insanity
Spoiler
and probably raise my blood pressure significantly due to rage so I guess it could pose health risk

especially being so prominently located in gameplay mode next to important buttons so you are bound to misclick it over and over again and it would be always there exactly when I am trying to get immersed in my game

+ I have literally zero use for such button in my game anyway cause I do not play and shop simultaneously thats just not something i do no matter how many notifications they send it will never be feature I use

so unless there is going to be toggle to turn it off completely as if it never existed I really must say heck no to the button

and yes I also have to click that ? calendar notification off everytime it pops up and i hate it but at least thats something to do with playing the game not just advertisement
FreddyFox1234
Seasoned Veteran
9 months ago
I also don’t like the fact that it seems to make the game less accessible for some people, to the extent that they’re afraid to play it. That’s not on. But for me personally, I really hate the thought of having this button there acting as an in-game ad. Thankfully I don’t actually have it yet, and I’m hoping I never get it. But I already constantly click the wrong button, e.g. clicking on Manage Worlds when I want the Gallery, or vice versa (for some reason I can never get it into my head which way round they are, or which icon represents which). I really don’t want to be clicking that ad button by mistake. Every other button on the UI (and even the flashing light on the calendar which annoys me intensely) has an in-game purpose. The ad button does not, and does not belong there.
BissenNess
Seasoned Hotshot
9 months ago
I noticed that in some of the threads, some people are reporting that their notification indicator is different. For example, some reported that the whole button pulses or glows, something I've never seen. Depending on the specifics, this might explain the averse reactions.

In my game, there is a glowing circle (not flashing) that appears on the corner of the shopping button whenever the recommendations have changed. This happens when I first load up the save, if it happens at all. If the recommendations are the same as the last time I played, there's no light. If I click on the button and then click out again, the light disappears, not to return for the rest of the game play session.

@Simburian do you have all of the packs? This might explain why you don't have notifications.
HermioneSims
Seasoned Adventurer
9 months ago
In my case the little light is exactly the same as the one the calendar icon had for ages in my game, and I personally don't notice it much (in the sense that it could take a few minutes for me to even notice that something is blinking, and also at that point for me it's easy to ignore).
However, I still find it quite annoying and redundant to have more ads about the packs I don't own. I'm poor and on a low-end laptop, I don't need reminders about what I cannot afford now, in particular when I'm trying to disconnect for a while and focus on a game where the "motherlode" cheat exists.

As for the accessibility issues many users are reporting instead, I see it as a broader and separate issue. To reuse the example I started with, for instance, it's not just the cart icon that has a flashy light, but also the calendar. In terms of accessibility of the UI, I guess that being able to toggle off all the animations/lights associated with the icons should be the way to go.
crocobaura
Seasoned Ace
9 months ago
"HermioneSims;c-18357871" wrote:
In my case the little light is exactly the same as the one the calendar icon had for ages in my game, and I personally don't notice it much (in the sense that it could take a few minutes for me to even notice that something is blinking, and also at that point for me it's easy to ignore).

In my game both the calendar and sims phone have little blinking lights. The sim phone light is new.