"LiELF;c-16368519" wrote:
Okay. I've made several comments already in a variety of threads about this pack, but I'm going to try to be as constructive as I can right now, out of respect for the moderators, and in a serious attempt to get my message out there to the company.
First, I'm going to start by saying that, up until now, I have been a supporter of Stuff packs. I feel that, for the most part, they have been very good at representing what they are: independent themes that don't always fit the flavor of the larger packs. They are easy to pass over if they do not suit an individual's personal preference, and are hardly missed when left out. They have always been an extra for the player to pick and choose what suits their own play style, and the price point is very fair for what they are. And according to statements from Maxis developers, Stuff packs contain the content that was voted out of the larger packs, and thus includes stuff that would not exist in game otherwise. So these packs have been a way of giving us those things back.
I can't say I've been as pleased with Expansion packs. For the majority, I have found them to be disappointingly thin and unsatisfying for long-term play. They have a tendency to have strength in one or two areas, but then prove to be stretched shallow in others. Considering that they take a year or more to develop and remain the highest priced of the packs, I find this worth questioning over and again. How is it that these packs in past games seemed teeming with content full of depth and creativity, stuffed to completion, but suddenly with Sims 4's reign, they fall a little flat, and in fact, are often overshadowed by the new $20 Game packs? It seems that something isn't flowing right, whether in the budget, time management, or staff size... maybe a bit of all three, I don't know. But it's noticeable, and it seems to me that some kind of measures should be taken to correct it.
When Cats and Dogs was released just four months ago, players took note of how few objects there were included in the pack. We keep getting told that there are budget restrictions, deadlines, etc., and that some things get left out in favor of new things. And while I can accept this excuse to a point, the elimination of key objects for Cats and Dogs seemed like a terrible oversight. If we were getting one single expansion pack focused on only Cats and Dogs, then shouldn't it include complete sets for the items required to cater to those pets' needs? Shouldn't it have a larger variety of items, since we were only given those two animals? After all, we sacrificed a plethora of small pets (and some say horses too) for the veterinarian career, so shouldn't we still have received a full catalog of cat- and dog-friendly items to fulfill the theme? That would have been fair. Instead, the pack was cut short, and a paltry selection was supplied to us, accompanied with the assurance that these would be the best cats and dogs we'd ever seen because the pack chose to focus on only them. People were bummed out, but we grudgingly accepted what we had and moved on.
Fast forward to this week, and suddenly there's a pet-themed Stuff pack with a whole bunch of Cats and Dogs items. Not even brand new designs, but practically recolors of the same things we already have. And not only that, but pieces of furniture that actually match what we were given in the Cats and Dogs pack. But that's not all...let's pile on a selection of new pet clothes and Cat and Dog decor. Let's be frank about this - more than half of this pack is specifically Cat and Dog themed, and it's been jammed under the guise of a "small pets pack".
Which brings me to the "small pets" issue. Pets, plural? I don't think so. This is clearly one pet type with four skins, that all behave the same way. They are tied to their cage, just like the infants to the cradles, which makes their gameplay limited. One new pet type, and then a few new pieces of Sim clothing and hair.
The first problem, as I see it, is that any Cats and Dogs related content should have been in that expansion pack. We were assured that we would get more out of the pack for those two animals for the very reason that we weren't going to be getting any other pets with them. That assurance turned out to be false, and just a few months later we are being offered some of those missing items with another $10 fee slapped to them. How can the players possibly not feel betrayed by this?
The second major problem that I see, is this single new pet being offered. Where are the rest? Why was there a survey a year ago asking if players would like an entire pack dedicated to small pets? To me, this speaks loudly of EA's intentions to split up each pet type into a series of "pet" stuff packs, continuing to offer more missing content for Cats and Dogs along the way instead of dedicating to a complete small pets theme, and pushing pressure onto the player to buy the expansion in order to be able to use all of the content. In the end, for the player to have the whole collection of pets, we'll have paid the price of at least two expansion packs. No. No, no, NO. This. is. WRONG.
So what would my solution be? Well, this is a little hard, considering I don't know what's on the brink of development, but I can say that I think all of the Cat and Dog content, at the very least, anything that requires Cats and Dogs, should be patched to us for free. Then, maybe take the rest, charge $4.99 for it, and never speak of this monstrosity again. And consider working on that small pets pack for us but make frakking sure that it's cohesive, extensive, and worth the money you charge us. Give us reptiles, a variety of birds, ferrets, rabbits, chinchillas, spiders, and exotics, like flying squirrels. Give us creatures that run around the house, jump from Sim to Sim, or do tricks. Give us a reason to forget this pack ever happened.
In closing, I will say that I'm not entirely against addons for expansions. I'm really not. I would love to see Aliens extended upon, and Servos return with them. Honestly, I can think of a few things that would be fun to expand. But in this case, the company went against its word and the wound was still raw. We were promised the best Cats and Dogs in exchange for the sacrifice of other pets, and part of that promise should absolutely have included everything we needed for those cats and dogs. We should not be paying outright for that missing content.
This is exactly what it is about and what EA should read if they want an explanation for the backlash (if they don't already know what they've done wrong)! Thank you for writing this!
EA Staff
