6 years ago

Tiny Living and little freedom of choice

I saw some of the build/buy previews and am a bit concerned about the choices that were made here by the developers. I assume it were time restraints and budget issues, but I don't get why so many objects are not also offered as a seperate or as a blank version.

A few examples:

Murphy Bed. We have seemingly 4 versions in the catalog, but 2 of those versions are just ones with a bookcase that is a separate object anyway. Unnecessary bloat in the catalog. What we don't have is a Murphy Bed without the painting and the weird little decorations. Now I can only use the Murphy Bed in a specific setup. I can't avoid the decorations on the shelf. If I have a living situation where I need 2 Murphy Beds it's gonna look ridicilous.

Also, why isn't the couch that comes with one of the Murphy Bed versions available separately? The couch looks great. Would have been nice to have the choice of placing this without the Murphy Bed.

TV/Bookshelf/Stereo combo. There is a lovely TV in there. Why isn't the TV available as a separate object, too? Would that have been so difficult or time-consuming to do? Yes, Modders will probably get this done quickly, but I'm also thinking about the console version.

Kitchen shelf. I mean the hanging shelf with the oven mits. It has lots of decorations on the shelfs and some small empty space for your own stuff. Why doesn't the shelf exist as an completely empty version? If I want to use the kitchen shelf, I can only use it once in my kitchen. Because there are no variations or opportunities for me to decorate this shelf to my own liking.

Some objects that would require more work to make modular:

The single bed. Lovely. Why no double bed in this version?

Barstool. Why no regular chair version of this? I love the simple, clean look of it. Would have been great to have this as a normal chair.

Rond High table. Again, why no regular table version of this? This only works with the bar stools. We would have desperately needed a small modern round table.

Pouffe. The pouffe is for some reason an endtable where you can put stuff on. Neat idea, but why can't their be a version where the pouffe functions as a chair?

I guess the last 4 examples would have been more time-consuming to accomplish, but I don't get the first 4 examples. Why wasn't it possible to offer us more choices on how we want to use the objects?

feedback

17 Replies

elelunicy
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
Why not another version of the same object? Because it counts as a separate object, that’s why.

Remember, the artists at Maxis only draw the concept art for these objects. The actual object modeling and texturing are outsourced to studios in China. The amount of money EA pays these partner studios is based on the number of objects they make. If you want another version of the same object, then EA has to pay the same amount of money as a brand new object. Since the budget of a stuff pack is fixed, they almost always choose to spend the money on a brand new object instead of a different version of the same object.

This is also why a lot of things don’t exist as a separate object. They’re made as a single object to save money. Separating them into individual objects would require Maxis artists’ time, and these artists are tasked with more important things like working on bigger packs, modeling new gameplay objects, etc. Not to mention they also need to write object names/descriptions, translating them into like 17 different languages, and tagging them properly. Modders don’t do any of that when they separate the objects.
logionX
Legend
6 years ago
"elelunicy;c-17374479" wrote:
Why not another version of the same object? Because it counts as a separate object, that’s why.

Remember, the artists at Maxis only draw the concept art for these objects. The actual object modeling and texturing are outsourced to studios in China. The amount of money EA pays these partner studios is based on the number of objects they make. If you want another version of the same object, then EA has to pay the same amount of money as a brand new object. Since the budget of a stuff pack is fixed, they almost always choose to spend the money on a brand new object instead of a different version of the same object.

This is also why a lot of things don’t exist as a separate object. They’re made as a single object to save money. Separating them into individual objects would require Maxis artists’ time, and these artists are tasked with more important things like working on bigger packs, modeling new gameplay objects, etc. Not to mention they also need to write object names/descriptions, translating them into like 17 different languages, and tagging them properly. Modders don’t do any of that when they separate the objects.

Huh, I did not know that Maxis had any outsourcing. Interesting.
LareeIvores
6 years ago
Then I'll say they made a bad deal, when it costs the same amount of money if you want a variant of an object.
AquaGamer1212
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"elelunicy;c-17374479" wrote:
Why not another version of the same object? Because it counts as a separate object, that’s why.

Remember, the artists at Maxis only draw the concept art for these objects. The actual object modeling and texturing are outsourced to studios in China. The amount of money EA pays these partner studios is based on the number of objects they make. If you want another version of the same object, then EA has to pay the same amount of money as a brand new object. Since the budget of a stuff pack is fixed, they almost always choose to spend the money on a brand new object instead of a different version of the same object.

This is also why a lot of things don’t exist as a separate object. They’re made as a single object to save money. Separating them into individual objects would require Maxis artists’ time, and these artists are tasked with more important things like working on bigger packs, modeling new gameplay objects, etc. Not to mention they also need to write object names/descriptions, translating them into like 17 different languages, and tagging them properly. Modders don’t do any of that when they separate the objects.

How do you know this? I think I’ve heard about this before but couldn’t find info on it.
Beardedgeek72
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
I am sorry, but all of this sounds like you expect way more than what is realistic for the price.
janyses
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
It's only a stuff pack. You're asking for way too much.
AquaGamer1212
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
Someone has already created the Murphy bed love seat, matching chair, and converted the table and stool into a low table and chair....bless modders ?
RouenSims
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"AquaGamer1212;c-17374674" wrote:
Someone has already created the Murphy bed love seat, matching chair, and converted the table and stool into a low table and chair....bless modders ?

Do you have a link? ?
AquaGamer1212
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"Rouenpucelle;c-17374735" wrote:
"AquaGamer1212;c-17374674" wrote:
Someone has already created the Murphy bed love seat, matching chair, and converted the table and stool into a low table and chair....bless modders ?

Do you have a link? ?

https://wildlyminiaturesandwich.tumblr.com/post/190364350124/thank-you-to-the-ea-game-changer-program-for
elelunicy
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"AquaGamer1212;c-17374527" wrote:
"elelunicy;c-17374479" wrote:
Why not another version of the same object? Because it counts as a separate object, that’s why.

Remember, the artists at Maxis only draw the concept art for these objects. The actual object modeling and texturing are outsourced to studios in China. The amount of money EA pays these partner studios is based on the number of objects they make. If you want another version of the same object, then EA has to pay the same amount of money as a brand new object. Since the budget of a stuff pack is fixed, they almost always choose to spend the money on a brand new object instead of a different version of the same object.

This is also why a lot of things don’t exist as a separate object. They’re made as a single object to save money. Separating them into individual objects would require Maxis artists’ time, and these artists are tasked with more important things like working on bigger packs, modeling new gameplay objects, etc. Not to mention they also need to write object names/descriptions, translating them into like 17 different languages, and tagging them properly. Modders don’t do any of that when they separate the objects.

How do you know this? I think I’ve heard about this before but couldn’t find info on it.

It was SimGuruGraham who told us about using external partner studios to make clothing/objects during the last community stuff pack project. If you check the game's credits, you'll see that every pack has a long list of artists with Chinese names listed as external art teams. If you google their studios' names you'd find out they are located in China.

https://i.imgur.com/viWdvb0.png