Sims 4 won't be reviewed until after release EA not giving out early review copies.
- Thread starter synobal
- Start date
We need a review to see if it fails like the last Sim City. It had many bugs for the longest time.GonzoGamer said:
This holding back the review thing always feels like they don't believe in their product. And especially with a an absolutely terrible reputation like theirs, I believe they should do everything they can to fix it.
I can see that logic but didn't a lot of those problems with sim city crop up because so many people were trying to play it at the same time?Nazulu said:
I had no idea New Vegas was unplayable at launch; reviews said it was a little buggy....so was F3, I could still play the damn thing.
I'm just saying that while it is a bad sign, I don't care because I know it's going to be buggy and nigh unplayable and I only plan on picking it up later with the addons and after they've (hopefully) ironed out some of the problems...like I did with Skyrim.
So they are pretty much pulling the move that some companies do when releasing their film. In another word the game is going to be bad but they want to sucker in the people to buy it before they read bad reviews of it!
Yeah, it had online connection problems too. The bugs were separate though.GonzoGamer said:
Even if you have examples of games worth waiting for or that your clever enough to know you should wait till everything is bundled together for cheap, it shouldn't be the norm for big pubs to release games in such a sorry state (I do care, I want the game industry to be great again). And who knows, maybe many optimistic people actually read the reviews to see if the game is worth getting at launch.
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/759976/a-running-list-of-78-yes-really-78-officially-confirmed-missing-crippled-base-features
The game is basically just a skeleton at this point. It will get panned as much if not more than SimCity, and EA is trying to avoid bad press before release so as many clueless fans as possible buy the game at launch. It was to be expected.
The game is basically just a skeleton at this point. It will get panned as much if not more than SimCity, and EA is trying to avoid bad press before release so as many clueless fans as possible buy the game at launch. It was to be expected.
Yea, I want the game industry to be great again too and it will be but they're too far into this ultra-capitalistic (make more money at the cost of everything else) hole and they're not going to peek their head out until something big happens like a crash or something.Nazulu said:
You're right it shouldn't be the norm but we've complained and we now even have game journalists who complain on our behalf like Jim Sterling but they don't seem to be listening so they're just going to keep pushing the same tactics until they start losing money.
As if I needed another reason to stay clear of this title like the plague. The sad thing is I'm still fairly certain that it'll still sell like rare special edition hotcakes.
I imagine this is the equivalent of a film not doing press screenings for a film and allowing the consumer to buy the product before professionals can weigh in on it.
I hope EA has more confidence in a product than that.
I hope EA has more confidence in a product than that.
It's the Sims, you should really know what your getting by now after 3 main games and 2000 expansion packs.
I'm all for calling EA and any other publisher out on stuff like this, but, really? this is like bitching about not getting a review copy of Madden 2015
I'm all for calling EA and any other publisher out on stuff like this, but, really? this is like bitching about not getting a review copy of Madden 2015
We should know what we're getting, shouldn't we? Other games that have sequels will generally include the gameplay and like-content from the previous game as well as introduce new content. The Sims series doesn't really do this; everything that was introduced with the expansion packs is eliminated and you start with a bare-bones games with "better graphics" and new interactions.Lunar Templar said:
No, I don't think the majority here is complaining about the simple fact of EA not sending out review copies. I'm not really bothered when a company does this; they want everyone to see the game at once with no spoilers or other reason. What is damning against EA is how they keep stepping backwards with the series. When Sims 3 launched with the microtransaction store showing on startup, it's obvious they're trying to milk this cow for all it's worth.
The fact that they're not sending out review copies (when they do for their other games) ALONG WITH all of the other possible (and I say possible because there's still time to fix some of this) mistakes, it just doesn't bode well for the series, which is really a shame because The Sims can be a fun game to play. That is why people are complaining.
I refuse to be sold little pieces of a game I've already paid for to make a more complete game. It could cost $200-300 to play a Sims game in its completed form. I'm okay with the expansion packs; I just avoid the ones I don't want. What I don't like is when they're selling content that would normally be in the game, but they've cut for the purpose of microtransactions. I think The Sims 3 had something like 3 refrigerators to choose from at launch, but you could purchase additional furniture and content for $2 or so PER ITEM. That's ridiculous. If they want to do it this way they should sell a base version for $10-20, another for $30-40, and a complete for $60-80.
i knew it was going to be stripped down but not THAT stripped down...*pointing to the massive thread DrigeNovak linked*
78 parts of the game dissabled is very very bad.
but the worst part is that its going to be likely totally un modifiable. its the first version (baring the consoles) that will not allow the community, ya know, that part that actualy carries a game after the first few months if its niche..wont be able to make things. wont be able to PATCH things or fix things...
while i personaly like small hoods, that is becasue 1) i ususaly have so much CC that i ned to keep my hoods to a small size. 2) my hoods are historical or apox and so small is better (and i remove most townies) and 3) my machine cant handle large hoods now in sims3.
everyone else is likely running their varions on better machines than me.my machine is used just for the sims 1-2 and 3 and nothing more on it. no internet ether.
small is often beautiful but in theis case..miserly.it definately feels like it was going to be a browser game to me. or maybe even mobile and Ios type...with that in mind, it is no wonder so many features are missing / not added to basegame
you and me, SmugFrog, see eye to eye on the sims. they havent had a peny out of me online. i use only free site items such as mod the sims and medievil sims and garden of shadows (fallout3 clutter ftw XD) infact most of my sims expansions and stuff packs (for sims 2 at least. no sims 3 stuff packs for me) have come from indie stores and charity (thrift to you USA users) shops.
i just hope this learns them a lesson when it backfires and the sales drop like a stone. (but it wont. the sheeple will buy as they allways do and we will be stuck with this crappy buisness model for more versions. sims 5 will be moblies only and you have to pay for playtime i bet...)
78 parts of the game dissabled is very very bad.
but the worst part is that its going to be likely totally un modifiable. its the first version (baring the consoles) that will not allow the community, ya know, that part that actualy carries a game after the first few months if its niche..wont be able to make things. wont be able to PATCH things or fix things...
while i personaly like small hoods, that is becasue 1) i ususaly have so much CC that i ned to keep my hoods to a small size. 2) my hoods are historical or apox and so small is better (and i remove most townies) and 3) my machine cant handle large hoods now in sims3.
everyone else is likely running their varions on better machines than me.my machine is used just for the sims 1-2 and 3 and nothing more on it. no internet ether.
small is often beautiful but in theis case..miserly.it definately feels like it was going to be a browser game to me. or maybe even mobile and Ios type...with that in mind, it is no wonder so many features are missing / not added to basegame
you and me, SmugFrog, see eye to eye on the sims. they havent had a peny out of me online. i use only free site items such as mod the sims and medievil sims and garden of shadows (fallout3 clutter ftw XD) infact most of my sims expansions and stuff packs (for sims 2 at least. no sims 3 stuff packs for me) have come from indie stores and charity (thrift to you USA users) shops.
i just hope this learns them a lesson when it backfires and the sales drop like a stone. (but it wont. the sheeple will buy as they allways do and we will be stuck with this crappy buisness model for more versions. sims 5 will be moblies only and you have to pay for playtime i bet...)
Wow, I didn't know that. That's really a shame. It's not like they ever made it very easy to mod in the first place, and the game could really benefit from a mod system like what is used in The Elder Scrolls series; but that would impact the money that EA can gain by selling items. If they've totally secured the ability for people to mod items in, then that's clearly nothing but a horrible cash grab.Silverbane7 said:
Ha! You know they will. The best we can hope for is that word gets out enough about what a horrible design decision this is that people don't pick it up on day one, and their sales are sort of a trickle for this game (if it is as bad as it's looking). HOWEVER - The Sims has a large fanbase, and a certain group that always buys each iteration. It really has an appeal for a lot of "casual" gamers, and they likely won't do their research. I plan on sit back and reading the reviews and complaints after release. Not with joy, mind you; because deep down I love The Sims and the genre that was created when the original was released. As I said before, with each one they see what they can take out rather than add to. The biggest change was probably Sims 2 compared to Sims 1, with Sims 3 being tweaked with a lot of good changes, but that's when their "pay more to play" model really took off. Such a shame.Silverbane7 said:
Didn't EA even go so far as to turn Will Wright into a Villain in a Simpsons game? I mean, it was hilarious, but that's how they think of him now, you know?
I've said it before and I'm not the first, if it's as microtransaction-heavy as Sims 3 and has as much cut content as people are saying, it should really just be free to play.
I spent a lot of time on Sims 2 back in the day. I remember booting up Sims 3 for the first time, thinking to myself "wow, there's, like, nothing here," and putting it down almost immediately. I've barely touched it since then.
I spent a lot of time on Sims 2 back in the day. I remember booting up Sims 3 for the first time, thinking to myself "wow, there's, like, nothing here," and putting it down almost immediately. I've barely touched it since then.
Given who the publisher is, I think the opposite is true. It's not being sent out before hand so the reviewers can't mention how much of it is or isn't locked behind paywalls.Lilphish said:
This is the logical extreme of review embargos, rather than hand people games and hope they won't spill the beans twelve or twenty four hours early, just don't hand them a review copy at all. That way whether their news is good or bad it won't interfere with the launch campaign. If it's good fantastic, stick it on the posters, if it's bad no matter, day one is long past.
Still, all thing considered I prefer this approach to the 'Review Events' that EA and others have held in the past, playing a game for half a day in a controlled environment is not a review and not even close to honest, just look at Battlefield 4.
well, a LOT of the popularity of the sims franchine was, your ability to play how you liked with your simmies.
just looking all the way back at sims1 (which that thread linked about 78 things constantly argues over being ireleveant lol) there were many ways for you to play. even with just the base game.
while there was only 1 world, there were about 11 lots you could easily buldoze and rebuild. (you apparently have 2-3 empty lots in the whole sims4 game world)
while you could not have community lots (yet) you could make immitation ones
you could have famlies of up to 8 sims, and not only were there many ways to play with them (1 adult all kids = school / orphanage / harry potter school ect) many ways to kill them (drowning in the pool, starvation, desease, death by flies ect) and many ways to make their lives good or bad.
when you move up to the sims 2 base game, there were more things. you had 3 worlds (strangetown, veronaville and the other one i allways forget XD) but you could use the allready provided tools to make more. you ould now work out how your ghost sims died by their colour (red=fire blue=drowning ect) so could have fun that way.
there were more ways to interact, we had aging and toddlers and elders. teenagers and cerfews and even weddings at home.
sims3 gave us gardening and faveorite foods. even vegetarian sims. you could make a living by farming vegetables and space rocks and insects. while we didnt have basements (till the updated origin required patched basegame lol) we could imitate basements with tools and tricks and codes (the old ConstrainFloorElevation true tricks XD)
now, all of that is gone. and they say its fine becasue its 'an alternate reality of the sims'
we never had 100%flat lots even in the sims1 basegame days, ffs. now we have 90% of the game being decor, so it wont break
(yeah. thats right. as of the new s4 basegame, babies are actualy objects, just a basinet basket. at home, plants cant be waterd or tended (you can apparently hite a gardener in comunity lots. whatever thats going to be good for) and all visable lots outside in the background..just a nice prety box to look at from what we can tell)
sure, they will add things in...for a fee and an expansion. but if you look at how much went out of sims 3 compare it to how much was sell-ware in sims 2.....we are going to be getting a lot less per expansion. assuming they dont just junk it and move it to mobiles only (which im sure android phones and ios devises can easily handle what the sims4 is right now...)
no more building homes and buildings for the fun of it. drag+drop is here to stay.
no more family chalenges. no family trees to stop your inbreeds from marrying (tho the inbreeding may be speculation, famliy trees have gone)
no legacy hoods. your neighbours will age up and die alone, unloved unless you take an interest in them
no more theme hoods. unless the Store has something historical or themed for you to buy, say bye-bye to your medievil or harry potter or zombie apocalpse hoods *hugs her old ones and whispers its allright, im not upgrading shussssh*
lol.
just looking all the way back at sims1 (which that thread linked about 78 things constantly argues over being ireleveant lol) there were many ways for you to play. even with just the base game.
while there was only 1 world, there were about 11 lots you could easily buldoze and rebuild. (you apparently have 2-3 empty lots in the whole sims4 game world)
while you could not have community lots (yet) you could make immitation ones
you could have famlies of up to 8 sims, and not only were there many ways to play with them (1 adult all kids = school / orphanage / harry potter school ect) many ways to kill them (drowning in the pool, starvation, desease, death by flies ect) and many ways to make their lives good or bad.
when you move up to the sims 2 base game, there were more things. you had 3 worlds (strangetown, veronaville and the other one i allways forget XD) but you could use the allready provided tools to make more. you ould now work out how your ghost sims died by their colour (red=fire blue=drowning ect) so could have fun that way.
there were more ways to interact, we had aging and toddlers and elders. teenagers and cerfews and even weddings at home.
sims3 gave us gardening and faveorite foods. even vegetarian sims. you could make a living by farming vegetables and space rocks and insects. while we didnt have basements (till the updated origin required patched basegame lol) we could imitate basements with tools and tricks and codes (the old ConstrainFloorElevation true tricks XD)
now, all of that is gone. and they say its fine becasue its 'an alternate reality of the sims'
we never had 100%flat lots even in the sims1 basegame days, ffs. now we have 90% of the game being decor, so it wont break
(yeah. thats right. as of the new s4 basegame, babies are actualy objects, just a basinet basket. at home, plants cant be waterd or tended (you can apparently hite a gardener in comunity lots. whatever thats going to be good for) and all visable lots outside in the background..just a nice prety box to look at from what we can tell)
sure, they will add things in...for a fee and an expansion. but if you look at how much went out of sims 3 compare it to how much was sell-ware in sims 2.....we are going to be getting a lot less per expansion. assuming they dont just junk it and move it to mobiles only (which im sure android phones and ios devises can easily handle what the sims4 is right now...)
no more building homes and buildings for the fun of it. drag+drop is here to stay.
no more family chalenges. no family trees to stop your inbreeds from marrying (tho the inbreeding may be speculation, famliy trees have gone)
no legacy hoods. your neighbours will age up and die alone, unloved unless you take an interest in them
no more theme hoods. unless the Store has something historical or themed for you to buy, say bye-bye to your medievil or harry potter or zombie apocalpse hoods *hugs her old ones and whispers its allright, im not upgrading shussssh*
lol.
also, to TL
R for those who dont like visiting the sims forums or the tumblr page...a list of currently know features gone awol
CONFIRMED - MAJOR MISSING FEATURES: (All were in base versions of Sims 3)
No create a style (CAST) - NOT possible in future expansions
No family trees
No Mac version of the game at release (or announced)
No modifications to world/public spaces - The park in the demo is a mix of a community lot and public space
No ?normal? careers - Law enforcement, Medical, Business, etc. were removed
No open world - You must incur a loading screen between each active lot; each neighborhood has 1-5 lots total
No pools
No terrain tools other than paint; everything is perfectly flat
No story progression - Sims in the neighborhood age, but do not have children, get jobs, move, get married?etc. without player intervention
No toddlers - Nor were they combined with "enhanced" babies
No way to create/place new lots - And you only have 2 empty ones at the start of the game!
CONFIRMED - MAJOR CUT BACK FEATURES: (All were in base versions of Sims 3)
All buildings on a lot must have the same foundation. No mixing for sheds, garages, etc.
Babies are mere objects - All interactions are through basinet. There are no baby objects. Babies can only be lifted directly above basinet.
Backgrounds are illusions - The buildings in the background are not playable in the game.
Completely FLAT lots - The entire build-able world is completely flat
Fewer floors/levels, limited to three
SIGNIFICANTLY smaller ?worlds? of <25 lots compared to 125+ lots in TS3
Smaller lots - Lots are limited to 50x50 instead of 64x64.
Loading screens for individual lots
The map is a one-dimensional picture
Teens are same height as adults and they, along with elders, all look nearly identical.
CONFIRMED - OTHER MISSING GAMEPLAY ELEMENTS: (All were in base versions of Sims 1, Sims 2, or Sims 3)
No acne
No aliens
No animated hair
No aspiration failures
No bartender (as NPC for hire)
No basements
No bobble head for selecting actions
No bookstores
No burglar alarms
No cars (not even as décor)
No cemeteries
No cutscenes
No cleaning skill
No clothes shopping
No color wheel, predefined to ~20 colors
No comfort need
No curfew
No customization of multi-tone hair color (users select only main color)
No diseases or illness
No dreams
No environment need
No eyelash length slider
No favorites (food, color, music)
No fears
No firefighters - Be careful with the matches!
No full face make-up
No garage doors
No gardener for hire
No ghosts
No grocery stores
No male body hair
No move object cheat
No newspapers
No opacity slider for makeup
No party invitations from other Sims
No portraits
No private school
No rabbit holes at all - Sims move offscreen for work and school. There are no hospitals, work/school buildings?etc.
No random or accidental deaths
No repairman
No restaurants
No skin slider
No still lifes
No swimming/swimwear - Including lakes, fountains, etc.
No tragic clown or social bunny
No way to watch a Sim commute to work/school
No website for browsing exchange or store (in-game only)
No zodiac signs
MISSING OBJECTS: (All were in base versions of Sims 1, Sims 2, or Sims 3)
No bikes
No changing tables
No cribs
No dishwashers
No highchairs
No hot tubs
No pool tables
No trash compactors
CONFIRMED - MISC LIMITING GAME FEATURES:
32-bit executable - TS4 is not 64-bit, and cannot access more than 4GB of RAM. If you have more than 4GB then you are crippled.
Fewer traits in CAS (more traits must be unlocked/earned in-game)
Incompatible Simpoint currency - Sims 3 Store Simpoints do not work with TS4
RUMORED (NOT CONFIRMED, BUT VERY LIKELY):
No babysitters (as NPC for hire)
No burglars
No cashiers
No Create a World
No exterminator
No swings
Premium Membership is REQUIRED to get certain sets on release day or at all
No inheritance
No interests
No magazines
No pinball machines
No way to water flower beds/bushes
But don't worry you can "emotionally" breastfeed (although only while standing and by clicking on a crib?) and they have rocket ships to off screen. Yep, that's the trade off
thats a lot of features one way or another...
Captcha 'i think i can!' im sure you can sims4, im sure you can. here, read 'the little engine that could' lol
R for those who dont like visiting the sims forums or the tumblr page...a list of currently know features gone awolCONFIRMED - MAJOR MISSING FEATURES: (All were in base versions of Sims 3)
No create a style (CAST) - NOT possible in future expansions
No family trees
No Mac version of the game at release (or announced)
No modifications to world/public spaces - The park in the demo is a mix of a community lot and public space
No ?normal? careers - Law enforcement, Medical, Business, etc. were removed
No open world - You must incur a loading screen between each active lot; each neighborhood has 1-5 lots total
No pools
No terrain tools other than paint; everything is perfectly flat
No story progression - Sims in the neighborhood age, but do not have children, get jobs, move, get married?etc. without player intervention
No toddlers - Nor were they combined with "enhanced" babies
No way to create/place new lots - And you only have 2 empty ones at the start of the game!
CONFIRMED - MAJOR CUT BACK FEATURES: (All were in base versions of Sims 3)
All buildings on a lot must have the same foundation. No mixing for sheds, garages, etc.
Babies are mere objects - All interactions are through basinet. There are no baby objects. Babies can only be lifted directly above basinet.
Backgrounds are illusions - The buildings in the background are not playable in the game.
Completely FLAT lots - The entire build-able world is completely flat
Fewer floors/levels, limited to three
SIGNIFICANTLY smaller ?worlds? of <25 lots compared to 125+ lots in TS3
Smaller lots - Lots are limited to 50x50 instead of 64x64.
Loading screens for individual lots
The map is a one-dimensional picture
Teens are same height as adults and they, along with elders, all look nearly identical.
CONFIRMED - OTHER MISSING GAMEPLAY ELEMENTS: (All were in base versions of Sims 1, Sims 2, or Sims 3)
No acne
No aliens
No animated hair
No aspiration failures
No bartender (as NPC for hire)
No basements
No bobble head for selecting actions
No bookstores
No burglar alarms
No cars (not even as décor)
No cemeteries
No cutscenes
No cleaning skill
No clothes shopping
No color wheel, predefined to ~20 colors
No comfort need
No curfew
No customization of multi-tone hair color (users select only main color)
No diseases or illness
No dreams
No environment need
No eyelash length slider
No favorites (food, color, music)
No fears
No firefighters - Be careful with the matches!
No full face make-up
No garage doors
No gardener for hire
No ghosts
No grocery stores
No male body hair
No move object cheat
No newspapers
No opacity slider for makeup
No party invitations from other Sims
No portraits
No private school
No rabbit holes at all - Sims move offscreen for work and school. There are no hospitals, work/school buildings?etc.
No random or accidental deaths
No repairman
No restaurants
No skin slider
No still lifes
No swimming/swimwear - Including lakes, fountains, etc.
No tragic clown or social bunny
No way to watch a Sim commute to work/school
No website for browsing exchange or store (in-game only)
No zodiac signs
MISSING OBJECTS: (All were in base versions of Sims 1, Sims 2, or Sims 3)
No bikes
No changing tables
No cribs
No dishwashers
No highchairs
No hot tubs
No pool tables
No trash compactors
CONFIRMED - MISC LIMITING GAME FEATURES:
32-bit executable - TS4 is not 64-bit, and cannot access more than 4GB of RAM. If you have more than 4GB then you are crippled.
Fewer traits in CAS (more traits must be unlocked/earned in-game)
Incompatible Simpoint currency - Sims 3 Store Simpoints do not work with TS4
RUMORED (NOT CONFIRMED, BUT VERY LIKELY):
No babysitters (as NPC for hire)
No burglars
No cashiers
No Create a World
No exterminator
No swings
Premium Membership is REQUIRED to get certain sets on release day or at all
No inheritance
No interests
No magazines
No pinball machines
No way to water flower beds/bushes
But don't worry you can "emotionally" breastfeed (although only while standing and by clicking on a crib?) and they have rocket ships to off screen. Yep, that's the trade off
thats a lot of features one way or another...
Captcha 'i think i can!' im sure you can sims4, im sure you can. here, read 'the little engine that could' lol