JOB POSTING: Multiplayer Gameplay Software Engineer
I don't like the sound of this, at all! https://ea.gr8people.com/jobs/178382/multiplayer-gameplay-software-engineer-the-sims?locale=en
Forum Discussion
"Oldeseadogge;c-18281224" wrote:"alanmichael1;c-18274902" wrote:
Somehow I have the feeling that the vast majority of Sims players has no Sims-playing friends. But perhaps I'm wrong.
I have the feeling that your feeling could be quite accurate. None of my friends plays computer games at all, never mind Sims. As for the multiplayer thing, have tried games like that and don't like them. It's a great way to get nowhere fast. A game like Sims is particularly ill suited to that mode, the too many cooks in the kitchen thing, or perhaps playing by committee.
They already tried several multiplayer Sims games/spinoffs:
The Sims Online (also the first Sims subscription service), The Sims Social, The Sims Freeplay, and The Sims Mobile. None of them are as full an experience as even Sims 4, though Freeplay comes close. To be fair though, FreePlay was better than The Sims 4 at launch with base game only. Unless the mobile experience only covered a small part of Project Rene/Sims 5/Sims 2025/Sims Online 2025/whatever they call it, it will limit the main game experience over time. CAS and buy modes work well as mobile games. The complexity of build mode does not work as well with mobile games, and live mode really has no comparison.
Spoiler
The Sims Online is a shadow of its former self, being officially discontinued, but still played on player-run servers for those who already have a copy. It was originally available only by subscription, plus the base game cost money. So I never even bought it. I did read online about strangers who would become roommates then basically mess everything up for you in the Sims Online. The Sims Social only lasted 2 years: internet connections were slow, and getting anywhere in the game depended on you already having friends who played the game, or friends that you could actually talk into playing the game. I tried it, ended up with boxes of incomplete stuff everywhere, got bored, stopped playing.
When you require either paid storage for items you have to collect to complete "quests" or you require friends to give you stuff to complete objects or "quests", that is a deal breaker for me. I gave up on Sims Social for that reason.
When you have to complete tasks in real time and the game does not pause when you are away from the game, nor when you are logged out of the game, that is a deal breaker for me. I gave up on FreePlay for that reason.
When you have both a paid base game AND a subscription required to continue to play, that is a dealbreaker for me. I never bought Sims Online, nor World of Warcraft for this reason.
Spoiler
This is also common in "guild games": rallies and guild events typically happen whether you are online at the same time as your guild members or not. I prefer to play games on my time, not on the games' timetable. Joining rallies or attending guild events does not pay my utility bills. The guild games that I still play do not require rewards from the guild events to enjoy the rest of the game. They are also the games that I was able to pick up after not playing for a length of time. Yes, generally you need to rebuild and of course you miss out on some stuff, but at least it was still playable, and rebuildable, and actually enjoyable.
When a non-war game tries to declare war on you when you don't play, I don't play that game.
If there is a subscription, the base game needs to be free. I didn't play World of Warcraft when it came out either because both the base game cost money and there was a subscription. Plus the subscription should be optional for gameplay - what happens when a person's financial situation changes? With paid games and packs, one can simply delay the purchase until the situation improves. With subscriptions, it then becomes a burden that needs to be dropped to keep from falling down even further.
Spoiler
There actually were mobile version of Sims 3, Sims 3 world adventures, and Sims Medieval. I still have at least one of these that I am trying to keep my device from offloading. They are still playable without any kind of internet connection on mobile. But they still did not hold a candle to the Sims 3 on PC/Mac/console. The graphics were comparable to The Sims (2000). Mobile games have far less longevity than console or PC/Mac games. Console games can get outdated, but as long as you keep the console and it doesn't break, the games are usually still playable, unless they require a subscription to play at all.
Then there are the non-Sims life simulation games online.
Most of these are chat games with embellishments.
Spoiler
IMVU, Avakin Life, Second Life, and a few others. They all have items for sale in the game, often nag you to buy in-game currency, make many items unavailable without the in-game currency that is bought with real cash, make non-cash in-game currency hard to get, and dangle the most desirable items just out of reach unless you have money to burn. And, of course, to keep bored players from leaving, they have event exclusive items too with some event items for free.
These multiplayer chat games are ALL about the bragging rights, and who can get what, who has the best whatever. Boring, useless, especially for someone like me who hates most competition games, and does not find pressure or competition relaxing in the least. The game needs to not only be playable, but FUN and rich in gameplay for those of us who prefer not to socialize in game or show off all our swag. Once in awhile, the fashion contests against other players can be fun, or rating public "apartments" can be fun, but they should not dominate everything. I tend to prefer exploration games with others in general, as long as no PvP is involved. Also, some of these have awful organization, or "must pass level" limits when it comes to placing furnishings.
Plus internet connections are not always reliable everywhere. Even cellphones sometimes lose reception. So an offline mode is also needed.
The ones that aren't chat games are typically only using PART of the Sims full experience. Some for the CAS mode, others for the build and/or buy mode, some for the crafting part of live gameplay, some for the player-generated character interaction choices part of live gameplay, but generally nothing with ALL of these.
Spoiler
Just scroll down on the Google play games list after searching for "The Sims", scroll past The Sims Freeplay and The Sims Mobile, scroll past the helper apps for actual The Sims games (like custom content finders and cheats lists including motherlode - my personal favorite) and you will see what I mean. Here you see games like Minecraft (crafting, building), various chat avatar games, games involving choices and consequences (usually also including dating in some form with interactive stories), maybe some fashion games, maybe some building/matching/merging games, and games like Roblox and Virtual Families 3. Virtual Families would be something I would be more interested in, except like Freeplay, actions happen in real time and are not paused when you are away from the game.
