This silent treatment is the worst

Some of it bothers me and some of it doesn't.

For example, them not addressing the fire storm that was their 20th anniversary bothered me. They started the fire, they should have at least been seen in good faith to attempt to address people's issues.

The game is still missing basic features 6 years in, and this bothers me. I think they don't address it though because it's by design. They mean to leave things out so we can pay for it later. Sims fans seem to be loyal to a fault though and will just buy everything and anything. No need to address this because they're still making their margins and the system is working for them.

I get that they can't talk about what they are working on next though and this bothers me none. We shouldn't have a say in the next packs because really, what games do people ever get a say in? Once they get to beta or alpha testing, bugs get reported or game balance suggestions but the general public doesn't get to say things like "well you made this a shooter and I wanted to play a more hands on fight game, change this please". I know sims is a different style of game, all it's own really, but that doesn't mean we get to say what they develop next. Vote with your wallets. Buy the pack if you like it, or don't buy it. Which cycles back up to my other point of people just buying anything and everything.

Part of the problem is us. We helped make them this way by allowing ourselves to be treated this way. As long as people keep buying, they won't change a thing because they don't have to. It works for them no matter how we feel and if it's working for us or not. They don't have to have communicate with us, but some would be nice. It is good PR for them, but again, I guess they don't need it because they know we blindly will just buy all the packs.

The thing that bothers me the most is how they seem to still live in 2015. Some parts of this game have not changed since release and somehow they want to keep this thing going even though we now are in 2020, other game franchises have moved on but the sims seem stuck in the past.

Making content for a game takes time and a lot of developers work on other projects or organize things to keep their community invested, but the team are showing so little that there is nothing to be invested in. In fact, some things they post about makes me not want to support them anymore. I used to tweet about the sims and show stuff I have done but I don't feel like doing that anymore. The sims4 have become this joke that people are just fine with and we are expected to keep buying stuff for it.

Meanwhile other studios are making some amazing work. Because they invest time, money and effort into it. And they show that they support and believe in their games. I like to take screenshots in games and I am stunned by what people are making.

https://i.imgur.com/TH6UCSZ.png

Maxis are showing very little of that, they mostly just say that they believe in the sims4 but they are not showing anything close to what other studios are making. It's mostly just words.

"PreCiious;d-973092" wrote:



I know they work, but i am just wondering, what are they doing and why do we have to beg for cars after 5years? Where is the honesty? Because it just feels like they are selling hope. Because who knows if cars ever be a thing right?

That is a very observant comment, because many large studios in the industry have moved into the business of selling hope, and delivering little to back it up. EA is one of the most shameless, but far from the first. It is easier to groom someone and woo them out of their money rather than actually working for it, and there are people who actually do like buying that adrenaline rush, so there is an actual audience for that and it actually pays. People were completely trusting at first, but now more are catching on to the tactics of companies who are in the game of talking a good game but never delivering.

This company has had lots of time and plenty of chances to turn things around, but instead they choose to get worse every time and just talk better to cover it up. In the last earnings call, they said that they would no longer be reporting active user numbers. When a color on the palette ceases to be rosy, they just take it off and use another pretty color instead to make it look good. They could make a genuine effort to do better and turn things around, but every time they get a chance, they do something like this.

All we can do about it is make personal decisions for ourselves and choose accordingly. Of course we all love the game, but the signs continue to be bad and it is important to understand the realistic contexts of things as they continue to unfold. It's not profitable to care, they are a company, caring is what they sell. Some companies do genuinely care, and they are very different from this. This is not what that ever feels like.

It's like being in an unhealthy relationship in real life, and not even knowing it because you've never experienced a healthy one before. You know something's wrong, it just doesn't feel right, you keep trying to make it work and it never does no matter how hard you try or what you do. You keep trying and trying, and they keep saying they care, but they really don't. They're just playing you, playing the game. The only way to make it better is to get out of that unhealthy relationship, find a healthy one, and be amazed at the difference and all of the things that you couldn't see or understand before.

When things keep getting worse upon worse, and all we see is that this company doesn't (really) care, why are we here wasting our time hoping and caring about them at all? There is no good fate for the game in the hands of a company like this, there is nothing we can do to make it better, and all we can choose is how far we want to ride the Titanic while it sinks. Gaming titanics take a long time to sink, but they definitely do, and it's written everywhere on every wall for anyone who really wants to read it. That's what I think it looks like, and I think that this is what they want from us - hanging on to hope where there isn't really anything to hope for, because whether or not it's good for us - it's good for them. Until they scrape the last dollar off of the floor and run, it's good for them.

All the above is right, and I think by now the majority of us know what kind of relationship EA has with us (cows and milkmen or milk-persons). But the problem here is that with this game...they have no competition, so they can do what they like and we will crawl for it!
However, I would not be too complacent if I was them, someone might be seeing a big opportunity while they sleep, and by the time they wake up the cows will be in the next field.

This studio is always giving players the silent treatment. Doesn’t help that most of the dlc they’ve made has been awful, but they let speculation run rampant which kind of makes some of the disappointment on them.

Agreed. The next vote for the knitting stuff pack was supposed to start in "early March" which is literally now, but none of the gurus have breathed about the pack in weeks. Not even to tell us when the next vote is starting. :/

"ListentoToppDogg;c-17419347" wrote:
Agreed. The next vote for the knitting stuff pack was supposed to start in "early March" which is literally now, but none of the gurus have breathed about the pack in weeks. Not even to tell us when the next vote is starting. :/

One of the sim guru's on twitter, (I can't remember who, but I think it might have been Ninja) said something this weekend about a vote to come soon and a surprise in the vote. It's always on twitter, they don't say much on here, you know, on their own official forums. *eyeroll*

This kind of communication though, trying to be full of surprises, really doesn't do much to help with the community being disappointed and letting people's speculations and hopes get way up. Just like they did for the 20th anniversary. It was supposed to be this big thing and it really wasn't much of anything.

"drake_mccarty;c-17419336" wrote:
This studio is always giving players the silent treatment. Doesn’t help that most of the dlc they’ve made has been awful, but they let speculation run rampant which kind of makes some of the disappointment on them.

I also agree with this too. A little more communication would stop this easily.

"Sk8rblaze;c-17419461" wrote:
Voting with your wallet is the only advice to follow. If you're putting up with the months of silent treatment to eventually buy the low effort pack they took forever to release, you're only supporting the behavior/tactic.

Basically. It literally doesn't matter if you complain on the internet and then still buy any pack they put out. You're just wasting your time and to put it bluntly, you are part of the problem.

EA gets a pass because it's The Sims. It's a popular franchise that has been around for many years and it's one of a kind (not for long with Paralives coming though). But it's been proved that consumers can make a difference if a studio puts out a garbage game and you just don't buy it/play it. Look at Anthem, after a year it's completely dead and I am just cackling at Bioware because they thought they could get away with it.

I'm not loyal to Maxis/EA because of them...they are the only company that offers a life simulation game in the form of our sims. Those sims are what I've enjoyed over the years -- creating numerous stories, building, etc.

In other words, I'm not attracted to EA's business practices/choices. Truth be told, I disagree with the ways in which they've developed The Sims 4 (especially). But, since it is the only life simulation game as it is, I stick with it.

I took that survey in January and was impressed with the questions and, as always, the possibilities. However, there's a track record here. And it's not good.

So, like an intolerable family member, I accept the franchise for what it has become (while I long for what it once meant a long time ago). And I no longer dare to imagine what the result of January's survey could mean or not mean for the game and any future changes/updates.

In fact, I no longer believe nor buy that the game itself (TS4) needs an upgrade or any changes in order to be a better game; I firmly believe that the company itself needs a better dedication to its customers and quality commitment.

On that note, can I just give a big shout out to CD Projekt Red:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOa2ITXW4AAbcag?format=png&name=large

This says it all.

Once Maxis/EA gets THAT right, they'll be back on the road to getting EVERYTHING right.

Edited one week after CP2077.

"Camkat;c-17419222" wrote:
I get that they can't talk about what they are working on next though and this bothers me none. We shouldn't have a say in the next packs because really, what games do people ever get a say in? Once they get to beta or alpha testing, bugs get reported or game balance suggestions but the general public doesn't get to say things like "well you made this a shooter and I wanted to play a more hands on fight game, change this please". I know sims is a different style of game, all it's own really, but that doesn't mean we get to say what they develop next. Vote with your wallets. Buy the pack if you like it, or don't buy it. Which cycles back up to my other point of people just buying anything and everything.

What? most games with ongoing updates and DLC that I follow players get a say in.

To begin with almost every dev out there in 2020 keep dev logs where they showcase things at a very early concept stage for players to show feedback, it's not that hard and it really does wonders to help boost sales, nowadays when I discover a new game I always check to see if the devs have one to see if the game is still active, if it's in a final state (because let's be real, no game ever releases in a finished state nowadays) or if it has been "abandoned".

I've seen PLENTY of games change stuff due to player feedback, EA doesn't even bother to change minor Tunings that makes packs semi-unplayable like Realm of Magic, we instead have to rely on Zer0's mods to fix it.

The way developers act with The Sims is really the low of the low, it's amazing how the devs treat the community like thrash and players still buy DLCs.

Crusader Kings 2 was released in 2012 and it still sells to this day all because Paradox never let the game die with constant updates and engaging with the community, the difference between the two companies is so absurd.