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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 8:04 AM
Default Anyone else worried about their new release model?
As you can read here: https://simsvip.com/2018/07/02/the-...ation-delivery/

They are not releasing any quarterly teaser anymore, which is, okay... weird. Twitter is fine and all that, but a video always reaches more people. Maybe it just seems there will only be specific videos about a pack, and not a quarterly summery video.
But this message from SimGuru Kate has me worried:

Quote:
Starting with the recent surprise announcement and release of The Sims 4 Seasons, we’re shifting our approach regarding the types of packs we create, and when they’ll be released. This change means that there will be quarters where we don’t release new paid content, so quarterly teasers won’t be the right format for sharing information.


What will "types of packs" mean? Other formats? The return of the dreaded Sims 3 store concept? Microtransactions? Subscription models? With EA I can imagine all kinds of horrors.
Also, what means, that there will be quarters with no new paid content? Color me extremly sceptical about free stuff from EA. To me, it reads that we will have to wait longer for new packs. Are they getting even less budget?
Or maybe this is all good news, but right now I'm worried.
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 8:08 AM
We can only speculate and since you've invited that, I'll guess that they are no longer going to churn out items on a schedule, but craft them according to some other standard. Hopefully, that means they will focus on well-made packs/expansions that are delivered with less bugs. That may be too much to hope for, but you never know. Have they had a change in management lately?
Has some new business idea coming from an outside source inspired them to adopt a new model? Corporations can be weird.

I hope you are wrong and there is no return to the "dreaded Sims 3 Store concept". It is dreadful!

Addicted to The Sims since 2000.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#3 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 9:36 AM
My (optimistic) speculation is that seeing how well received Seasons has been, they may be going back to the idea of 6-monthly EPs rather than the peppering of GPs and SPs that, let's face it, most of us found grounds to moan about the shallowness of the new content.

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#4 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 11:08 AM
My best hope is that they maybe reduce the amount of stuff packs and concentrate more on expansion and game packs. That Graham is now working on expansions might be an indicator for that, too.

Here is a video that speculates about possible world packs as a new type pack:

Mad Poster
#5 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 12:23 PM
Graham is working on expansions!?
Welp, prepare your wallets, y’all... quality content incoming.

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Scholar
#6 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 12:50 PM
I think they probably should have done this years ago. But we'll see what 'this' actually means. If they actually will update the game with patches in any meaningful way, I'm all for that because it's sorely needed. But if they don't do that, but just drag their feet and then release badly thought out packs once a year, then no. But I'm hoping they will at least focus on making actual quality content for packs and tone down their soul crushing disappointment streak. IMO they need to focus on actually fixing the things that doesn't work with the packs and content they've already released, and making great new packs. But I might aswell scream in a hurricane for how much my thoughts matters.

So be it. Move. ~Jason Bourne
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Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 12:57 PM
Since we are speculating...

I think the Gurus have gotten sick of the complete backlash that's happened every time and demanded some sort of shake-up internally. How can they fix bugs and improve the game as it is already when it's making new content 24/7 mode. To me it reads like they will have some downtime or off-season where quality control can occur.

Also once they release teasers the clock is on to be finished. It creates unnecessary pressure and way less room to say they need to delay.

But most importantly, IMO, is that without these teasers people won't speculate themselves to death. I don't know if anyone else here plays Planet Coaster, but they were teasing "big things to come" and saying they were having an expo and all hype and glory. People dreamt up the wildest things like zoos and water parks and big EPs, then when this "big hype" expo happened it was only a patch with some free content like fireworks shows or w/e small thing it was.

I don't see this as anything but a positive. Unless all it means is that they are gonna drop trailer, release SP/GP/EP a month later to give people less time to complain.

Glad to see Graham back on EPs. Always seemed odd to hide him away on working on measley SPs.

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
Lab Assistant
#8 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 1:14 PM
I doubt they will be doing any major content adding patches during paid content droughts or fixing/reworking anything major. Sounds to me like production is just slowing down drastically, but instead of killing off the game ASAP amd never looking back, they plan on dribbling out the last few pieces of content over a longer timespan before calling it quits. Just sounds to me like less is less here. No big new plans, no major bug squashing or quality of life adjustments, just less content.

Obviously good COULD come of having timespans where they aren’t rushing to push out paid DLC, I just seriously don’t expect it.
Field Researcher
#9 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 2:23 PM
Sounds like the result of those layoffs from not too long ago. There’s just no other logical explanation for shifting production to a point where you have to send out a twitter warning that there will be quarters with zero content released at all. Honestly, given their sudden need to get this info out there I’m guessing Jul-Sep will be one of those dry quarters with no content. We shall see.

One thing is for sure, EA is not changing the formula with this game. As in new pack types; their verbiage suggests the game will get fewer packs per year. This whole thing sure seems like Sims 4 is slowly winding down. Obviously EA is seeing how long they can drag this game out on a shoestring budget that gets smaller and smaller as time goes on, and they will probably milk another year or two out of it before they call it quits.
Field Researcher
#10 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 2:59 PM
I agree it could be a sign of them winding down slowly but given that Grant has been very vocal about the sims lasting for three more years and apparently they had meetings where the discussion was the sims lasting 10-15 years (yeah right) if they called it quits in the next year a lot of people will be really angry. Not that ea will care lol
Field Researcher
#11 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 4:05 PM
I think people need to stop worrying! We just had the same meltdown during the time period of silence before the Seasons trailer dropped. I think Simmers are so used to a constant flow of nonstop stuff being released that they look at a change in releasing schedule as some death toll for the game. I personally think they are going to focus more on expansion packs from here on out and those of course those take longer. Since expansions have a forty dollar price tag--at least here in the USA--they can still get the same amount of buck in a quarter versus sprinkling cheaper ten dollar stuff packs. I'm *hoping* that less will mean more time to focus on bug fixing and releasing solid and full packs.
Instructor
#12 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 4:10 PM
....Good?

Dude, their last model was "here's a shitty stuff pack we fart out every 3 months, that'll be $10." I'm not quite sure how it can get worse. Either they move back to the Sims 3 model of 2 EPs per year (good and highly plausible given Seasons release) or they move to something like a Sims 4 Store, people hate it and rage at EA...which tbh is also good and better than people just sitting back and accepting stuff pack spam.

The teasers are probably gone as a consequence of, for example, 2 EPs every year would mean there's always 2 quarters with nothing, and the quarters that do get them...? The teaser would mess with their marketing hype train strategy of choice.
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#13 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 4:24 PM
Where did you find out Graham's working on EPs?

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#14 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 4:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
Where did you find out Graham's working on EPs?


He confirmed it on his twitter account. SimsVip mentioned it here: https://simsvip.com/2018/07/02/the-...xpansion-packs/
Field Researcher
#15 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 4:37 PM
Well personally, my fingers are crossed that they drop stuff packs entirely. The whole “we make stuff the EP team doesn’t want to make” never sat with me, because half the time expansions were loaded with novelties that would be more fitting for a stuff pack. Hopefully the addition of Graham to the EP team gets us somewhere. Took Maxis long enough.
Forum Resident
#16 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 5:06 PM
C&D sold exceptionally well according to EA's end-of-quarter shareholder report. Considering the hype I've seen around Seasons it might be in a similar situation. It wouldn't surprise me if this prompted them to revisit the expansion model.
Forum Resident
#17 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 5:39 PM
I'm a bit torn about it.
On one hand I liked the quarterly teasers because it was some kind of news and I just hated this whole "will they or won't they release something" thing that was going on just before Seasons.
On the other hand I hope that means we'll get some more quality gameplay now. Maybe they'll put a bit less resources in SP and more in GP and EP. This game is still weirdly empty, even if you pay hundreds of bucks for it.
Scholar
#18 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 6:21 PM
Long live quarterly teasers, and glad too, I found them completely annoying, it's good as they released a Seasons almost out the blue, because it gave so little time for people start complaining about it.
Field Researcher
#19 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 8:02 PM
I keep seeing that they released seasons out of the blue, but that isn’t really true. We knew months prior to EA Play that the next pack would be playable there. Sure people might not have expected seasons, but there should have been no surprise that a pack big enough for a press event was going to be announced before the actual event.
Field Researcher
#20 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 8:11 PM
One of the game changers says she has been playing seasons for a year.

I see Drake was not impressed at them taking the teasers away, she was a bit salty about it on twitter. Guess she was the driving force behind it after all. On mobile so struggling to link but her profile is @ManaDrake.

I wouldn’t mind seeing stuff packs get kicked to the kerb.
Field Researcher
#21 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 9:34 PM
Which game changer would that be? I don’t think that’s accurate.
Field Researcher
#22 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 11:23 PM
Quote: Originally posted by drake_mccarty
Which game changer would that be? I don’t think that’s accurate.


Rory.

Rory said when asked in a live stream she had been playing for that long, she knew in advance it was coming. She also knew a year before cats and dogs.
Top Secret Researcher
#23 Old 3rd Jul 2018 at 11:25 PM
I actually don't mind quarterly teasers being gone. To me, they were annoying trailer for a trailer. Showing just a bit of stuff that's supposed to come with next pack(s). Nothing else. It served no purpose except to show what pack is next, and to expect it soon. I can see that done easier, via direct contact with gurus. Just like contact they had recently with the community.

And realy, calling them teasers makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason. Who are they teasing?
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#24 Old 4th Jul 2018 at 12:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Goldbear
Rory.

Rory said when asked in a live stream she had been playing for that long, she knew in advance it was coming. She also knew a year before cats and dogs.


Must be somewhat more than a yib then if they seriously knew so far in advance. Maybe a paid "gamechanger" or a tester rather than just one of the usual fansites

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Field Researcher
#25 Old 4th Jul 2018 at 1:47 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Inge Jones
Must be somewhat more than a yib then if they seriously knew so far in advance. Maybe a paid "gamechanger" or a tester rather than just one of the usual fansites


Well she is close with the development team I get the impression and she has had opportunities the other yibs haven’t. Like she was the one who got invited to the fitness pack live stream.

She comes across as really lovely and she genuinely seems to enjoy the game so I don’t think she would be exaggerating. She said cats and dogs In particular was a tough secret to keep.

I remember when toddlers was released another game changer, I think it was RachyBop said she knew toddlers were coming in advance. Maybe game changers do get told more than they are letting on and they just pretend to act surprised.
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