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Forum Resident
Original Poster
#1 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 3:04 AM
The year is 2022, EA has asked you to be the lead designer on TS5. What does your game look like?
Congratulations! You've won a raffle and now get to be the Lead Game Designer for The Sims 5. Your budget is AAA-studio size, but not unlimited. Good luck, and don't disappoint the Internet!

What would you keep from previous games?
What would you throw out?
What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
What is critical to have in the Base Game?
What would you save for Expansions?
What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
Any online features?

"Given enough time, hydrogen starts to wonder where it came from, and where it is going." - Edward R. Harrison
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 3:07 AM
Define AAA-size. How big we talking? Do we got, like, a God of War Budget?

The Receptacle still lives!
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#3 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 3:13 AM
Quote: Originally posted by lil bag2
Define AAA-size. How big we talking? Do we got, like, a God of War Budget?

Let's say a Spore budget, which was reportedly 20 million bucks. Enough to make a great sequel, but not enough to include all the features from expansions.

"Given enough time, hydrogen starts to wonder where it came from, and where it is going." - Edward R. Harrison
Inventor
#4 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 3:54 AM Last edited by Naus Allien : 28th Feb 2019 at 4:21 AM.
What would you keep from previous games?
The starting point should be The Sims 3: open world, create-a-style, traits story progression, with the same attention to detail TS2 has and the user-friendly tools of The Sims 4. Multitasking should be developed for the ground up. It's a good concept but it wasn't implemented all that well in The Sims 4.

What would you throw out?
Emotions. I think they don't work at all and there's no way to improve them.
Goal-oriented gameplay. I think focusing on sandbox aspects it's the way to go.
Less emphasis on collectibles.

What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
Neither and both. I think The Sims Medieval is the perfect balance of realistic and cartoonish. Definitely try to incorporate the best technology possible when it comes to light, shadows, shaders, AA, AF, etc. High-poly meshes (2K-5K for objects, 20K for Sims) and high quality textures (2K with high frequency for objects, 4K with high frequency for Sims). Animations should be done with motion capture technology. Over the top FXs should be kept to a minimum.

What is critical to have in the Base Game?
I think rain/fog should be in the base game. Laundry too as an opt-in feature. Same with cars, restaurants, basic stores (clothing, book and grocery) and nightclubs. All these features could be expanded later.
All life stages from TS2/3 with as many interactions and objects as possible (I'd try to recreate every object for babies and toddles that has appeared in previous Sims games).
All basic NPCs should be in the base game: burglar, firefighter, police officer, etc. All basic objects should be in the base game: dishwashers and trash compactors, video game consoles, laptops, piano, guitar, hot tub, spiral staircase, etc.
Pools, basements, pond tool, terrain tools, all common types of roof should be in the base game.

What would you save for Expansions?
Pets, University and most BIG features. Small pets like fish and rodents could be included in the base game, but cat, dogs and other big pets are too complex and difficult to be part of the base game.
Supernatural creatures / Life states other than ghosts.


What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?

Way too many things to even list, but off the top of my head:

BUILD/BUY:
- Walls shouldn't be ONE tile, but half a tile to allow for more creativity.
- Curved walls. All windows and doors should be made to function on curved walls.
- 7 floors and 5 basement levels by default. A cheat to have infinite levels for those with powerful machines.
- Split Leveling Tool. You can split a level as many times as you want and join all the different levels with stairs. Split levels don't count against the 7 level limit.
- 100% free object placement. No more SLOTS, every object can be placed on surface freely and it gets attached to the object underneath (though this feature can be disable for convenience).
- A tool to automatize tree/flora placement, you select an area, click and it auto places trees at a random distance. There's a slider to control how close to each other trees are placed.

CAS:
- Five traits per Sim. Zodiac signs that affect chemistry. Turn-ons and Turn-offs (since there's a Create a Style tool, you can choose a range of colors using hexadecimal or RGB codes to determine which hair/eyes your Sim prefers).
- Fatal flaws from The Sims Medieval return. You must choose a fatal flaw for every Sim teen or older.
- 3 heights per Sim: short, average and tall starting from teens onwards. A height slider sounds good but it's impossible to implement with our current tech.
- Both the Pull & Push System of The Sims 4 and an advanced mode with sliders for extra precision.
- Clothes can be layered, like in TS2 for PS2.

GAMEPLAY/GENERAL:
- Most of the resources should be spent developing good AI. What made TS2 the best of the franchise (objectively) was how rich and diverse its AI was. It should be taken one step forward and make them smarter than ever. Hire AI engineers and give them as many resources as they need to make a complex human-like AI. It'll be worth it in the end.
- Basic systems improved versions of previous games: chemistry (TS2), gossip (TS2+3), memories (TS2), moodlets (TS3), reputation (TS3). The more complex systems you account for, the more prepared you are in terms of developing a good engine. Other systems could be added later (a more complex fame system for example). Measures to avoid corruption like in TS2 should be taken.
- A hardcore mode for extra realism. You can't buy food from the fridge and bookcases have no books, you have to save money and buy everything at stores. Same with clothes. You only get the clothes your Sim has when you make them, everything else you have to buy, even your work clothes. Add also an option to DISABLE the hand tool in live mode so you can drag objects to your Sim inventory, you have to make them pick those objects up.
- TOGGLES. Hundreds upon hundreds of toggles that function on a per-save basis. Everything you can change now with XML mods, you should be able to change in-game to make the game function exactly as you want. You can also export settings to share or to load in another save. Important to add good descriptions so people know exactly what they're changing. 100% customizable life span (including length of pregnancy).
- Every career should have an exclusive reward item like in The Sims 2 AND some exclusive interactions like in 2 and 3 (and some careers in 4).
- Some active jobs at stores, restaurant (as chef/waiter/receptionist) and nightclub (bartender, DJ).
- All Service jobs can be played as active: maid, gardener, repair technician, exterminator and social worker. You are assigned a schedule every day and you have to go around town completing these tasks. You can't be promoted but can charge more for your service as your skills improve and you become more and more known (word of mouth).

Any online features?
NO. There could be a stand-alone version later on to play with friends, but the main version should focus every resource available on what matters the most: SIMULATION AND SANDBOX ELEMENTS.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#5 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 4:23 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Naus Allien
BUILD/BUY:
- Walls shouldn't be ONE tile, but half a tile to allow for more creativity.
- Curved walls. All windows and doors should be made to function on curved walls.
- 7 floors and 5 basement levels by default. A cheat to have infinite levels for those with powerful machines.
- Split Leveling Tool. You can split a level as many times as you want and join all the different levels with stairs. Split levels don't count against the 7 level limit.
- 100% free object placement. No more SLOTS, every object can be placed on surface freely and it gets attached to the object underneath (though this feature can be disable for convenience).
- A tool to automatize tree/flora placement, you select an area, click and it auto places trees at a random distance. There's a slider to control how close to each other trees are placed.

These improvements in particular would be fantastic! It could be overwhelming to have all the options upfront, but if there was an "Advanced" toggle that could let you do true split levels and free object placement, the potential for creative lots would go through the roof.

Quote:
- Fatal flaws from The Sims Medieval return. You must choose a fatal flaw for every Sim teen or older.

I think this would be an excellent layer of challenge that could be distinct from the personality and aspiration systems. I think a positive perk could introduce some interesting gameplay, as well. Maybe a randomized perk that gets better if you raise the Sim better, similar to the way your Sim has skill advantages to CAS adults if you raise them practicing those skills.

"Given enough time, hydrogen starts to wonder where it came from, and where it is going." - Edward R. Harrison
Top Secret Researcher
#6 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 5:36 AM
I would really like a combination of sliders (Sims 2 style) and traits. For example, a sim wouldn't be 'neat' but somewhere on the neat-messy spectrum. Kleptomaniac or artistic would be a trait.
Mad Poster
#7 Old 28th Feb 2019 at 6:32 AM Last edited by lil bag2 : 28th Feb 2019 at 7:00 AM.
What would you keep from previous games?
- TS2's memory system. I loved how every event in my sims' lives were mapped out for me to go over whenever I wanted and how certain memories would stick with a sim for the rest of their lives. (though I'd tone down some of the more...game breaking aspects of it. I personally never had that issue in my games but I've heard that's a common complaint with the system)
- TS3's sliders and traits
- Pretty much everything else from TS4's CAS
- At least Semi-Open worlds and Create-A-Style. I like TS4's idea of splitting the world into districts so that it's less demanding on lower end computers, but said districts should be open. I shouldn't have to go through a loading screen just to visit the house next door.
- TS3's Rabbit hole lots and buildings specifically for each career
- TS4's branching careers system.
- TS2's social interactions and relationship system.
- TS4's Gallery and search function
- TS3's Build Mode
- TS3's Lot partnership/ownership
- TS4's toddlers
- Building cars from scratch like in TS2.
- TS3's crime system. So a Sims' actions can actually lead to their arrest.

What would you throw out?
- Emotions. Or rather...the emphasis that TS4 puts on them. I'd make them just as a subtle and realistic as they were in TS2.
- The Young Adult stage. It's a waste and there's almost no physical difference between it and regular adults. Just combine them again and if you want your sim to look older, add wrinkles onto them in CAS.

What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
A little bit of both. Kinda like what we had with TS3. But a bit more polished.

What is critical to have in the Base Game?
- Maybe not seasons but it's about time we start out with some kind of weather system already in place. Rain and thunderstorms, at least.
- Beaches and Swimmable oceans.
- Some sort of create-a-world function. Even if it's as simple as the one in TS2, where you make a world based on pre-existing templates.
- Service NPCs need to make a serious comeback. Burglars, maids, firemen, cops, the works. Hell, add doctors in there while we'e at it.
- Bunk Beds
- The option for every (or at least half) career to be active.
- Business ownership. Maybe save something like restaurants for a pack but Sims should at least be able to start simple retail businesses, even if it's just from home.
- All those base game items that TS4 left out or tried to sell to us later...make those base game items again. This includes cars.
- After school activities for Kids and Teens.
- Stuff for kids to do. Basically, everything that came in the generations pack. That stuff should be base game content.

What would you save for Expansions?
- As much as I love them, I'd save Supernaturals for packs. Separate packs, to be specific. I like TS4's idea of giving each Supernatural their own game pack. That way the dev team can put an equal amount of time and effort into fleshing them all out. (and for pete's sake, let the children join in on the supernatural fun. I shouldn't need a mod for witch kids to be able to use magic or for vampire kids to be able to bite other sims.)
- Big City and Nightlife themed stuff (this includes buildable apartments)
- Larger pets, like cats, dogs, and maybe even farm animals. Ideally, the smaller pets like lizards and rodents could already be found in the wild in the base game.
- Vacation/Travel packs. Similar to how TS2 did it with Bon Voyage but I wouldn't mind some tomb exploring/building as well like in TS3. These would also be the perfect pacl to re-introduce some Island Paradise stuff like boating, houseboats, and resorts.
- Pretty much any of the zany/wacky stuff that wouldn't fit in the base game.
- I've always thought a sports themed pack would be pretty cool too. Maybe not a full expansion but a game pack might work.

What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
- Farming. Not just gardening. I'm talking tractors, barns, farm animals, living off the grid, all that stuff. I'm actually shocked we haven't gotten a pack dedicated to that yet.
- Either height options or a pre-teen life stage. I feel like the latter is easier to implement. Just something to make the transition from six year old to sixteen year old a bit less...jarring.
- Layered clothing.
- Above Ground Pools.
- A tool specifically for creating split levels so players don't have to finesse the system to make it possible.
- A way to recognize when a sim had a dye job so that their children aren't inheriting the colored streaks in their hair.

Any online features?
- Yes but they must be OPTIONAL! I can not stress that enough. Definitely keep the gallery but as for playing the game with other people, I don't see anything wrong with being able to have a private server to manage a world with friends.

The Receptacle still lives!
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#8 Old 1st Mar 2019 at 9:19 AM
Quote: Originally posted by lil bag2
What would you throw out?
- The Young Adult stage. It's a waste and there's almost no physical difference between it and regular adults. Just combine them again and if you want your sim to look older, add wrinkles onto them in CAS.

I agree that the implementation of the YA stage has never been well done, but I think that the life stage has really never been properly attempted. Otherwise, we essentially have four different stages for ages 0-18, and two for the other 60 years. Of course, humans change less from 20-60 than from 6-18, but I think there could be some really interesting interplay and depth in a fleshed out YA life stage. Their relationships to older relatives could be different, and interests and hobbies could develop differently when they become adults. I think they were best in TS2 for at least being put in a unique situation, but their presence in the TS3 base game made them more like "adults w/o slight wrinkles".

"Given enough time, hydrogen starts to wonder where it came from, and where it is going." - Edward R. Harrison
Field Researcher
#9 Old 1st Mar 2019 at 5:17 PM Last edited by Jo-Anne : 1st Mar 2019 at 5:44 PM.
What would you keep from previous games?
  • Cars
  • Open world (with rabbithole community and career lots)
  • CASt
  • Traits (talents) and personalities (Sims 2 style, with sliders)
  • Consequences, sims remembering things
  • Story Progression in a refined, detailed way (meaning turning it off would enable the player to play rotational old style)
What would you throw out?
  • ETA: the Gamechanger system. No more gamechangers!
  • Linking emotions to auras (they should be linked to behaviour of other sims and events and the personality of the sim should matter)
  • Emotions being felt towards everybody regardless, instead of the particular sim that caused the emotion
  • The TS4 ‘multitasking’ system
  • Checklist based gameplay
  • Scripts
  • Cartoony, over the top, quirky yes, clowny no
What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
  • Realistic with a sense of humour.
What is critical to have in the Base Game?
  • All life stages*, fleshed out (the sims alone should be fun to play with, not needing all kind of DLC to spice it up)
  • Tools to be creative when building and decorating (CASt, terrain tools etc)
  • Gameplay that is challenging and creative and focused on the sims’ personalities
  • Types of weather
What would you save for Expansions?
  • Content that is an addition to what is already fun: pets, supernaturals, robots, farming, things like that
What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
  • The ability for sims to kill other sims. Not bloody of course, quirky
Any online features?
  • NO!

*baby, toddler, kid, teen (a real one please), adult, middle aged, elder
I don’t want 20-60 be one life stage, that should be split in two, but again: fleshed out. Not just cosmetic.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 1st Mar 2019 at 5:36 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Jo-Anne
  • The ability for sims to kill other sims. Not bloody of course, quirky


TS4 did...kind of introduce this. They just don't advertise it that way. The first method is in the base game, where a sim with a high mischief skill can sabotage a rocket ship so that it crashes on the next person who uses it. The second comes from the City Living expansion and happens when a sim with a low cooking skill attempts to cook Pufferfish Nigiri. And BOY is it a hilariously disturbing death. I learned that the hard way when one of my sims accidentally killed a child with it. I was stuck somewhere between being mortified and laughing my ass off. I can't believe Maxis felt that was okay but freakin burglars would be too traumatic

The Receptacle still lives!
Field Researcher
#11 Old 1st Mar 2019 at 5:42 PM
Quote: Originally posted by lil bag2
TS4 did...kind of introduce this. They just don't advertise it that way. The first method is in the base game, where a sim with a high mischief skill can sabotage a rocket ship so that it crashes on the next person who uses it. The second comes from the City Living expansion and happens when a sim with a low cooking skill attempts to cook Pufferfish Nigiri. And BOY is it a hilariously disturbing death. I learned that the hard way when one of my sims accidentally killed a child with it. I was stuck somewhere between being mortified and laughing my ass off. I can't believe Maxis felt that was okay but freakin burglars would be too traumatic

I’m surprised! That good indeed. In Sims 3 by the way an alien technically can kill people by summoning a meteor.
Lab Assistant
#12 Old 1st Mar 2019 at 6:40 PM Last edited by Casimir : 1st Mar 2019 at 7:25 PM.
What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
I'd introduce infinite autonomy. Imagine that sims can have babies on their own or that they can autonomously apply for a certain job. I think TS5 should also have split levels, multi-story pools, multi-story arches and CAStable roofs! :lovestruc

What would you keep from previous games?
Beautiful animations like those from TS2, TS3 trait system and TS4 architectural elements (the roof outlining, frieze...).

What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
Definitely more realistic than Sims 4! Those birds in Windenburg look terrifying!
Scholar
#13 Old 1st Mar 2019 at 6:58 PM
What would you keep from previous games?
Sims 3: Open World
Sims 4: Create-A-Sim (Specifically, the expanse of body types you can easily make; Sims 3 CAS required mod sliders)
Sims 2: Memories

What would you throw out?
...probably Emotions. At the very least, they would be heavily altered.

What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
Really not sure. I don't mind either style, but I'd probably say closer to Sims 3 than Sims 4.

What is critical to have in the Base Game?
Weather. Okay, okay, I'm joking. There's no way such a basic life simulation thing as weather would be in Base Game...
Multiple life-stages. Maybe add a new lifestage, 'Preteen', which occurs during the last X days of child stage, before turning into a teenager. They end up having minor moodswings or start getting new interactions, like 'Have Dolls have Woohoo' when playing with a dollhouse or similar.

What would you save for Expansions?
Probably the 'celebrity' stuff and the overall 'party lifestyle' thing.

What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
Non-modded teen pregnancy, as well as random chances for illnesses that affect any lifestage. Including toddlers.
A mix of Create-A-Style and Swatches; maybe something like a colorwheel.

Any online features?
No. If there are, they would be kept to minute things like a built-in feature of sharing screenshots.
Scholar
#14 Old 4th Mar 2019 at 10:42 AM
You would all get fired for creating unreasonable costly requirements and not enough ways to monetize the game.

Their official reason will probably be something like ' xx and EA are parting ways because of artistical differences' or something.
Scholar
#15 Old 4th Mar 2019 at 5:05 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Element
Congratulations! You've won a raffle and now get to be the Lead Game Designer for The Sims 5. Your budget is AAA-studio size, but not unlimited. Good luck, and don't disappoint the Internet!

What would you keep from previous games?
What would you throw out?
What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
What is critical to have in the Base Game?
What would you save for Expansions?
What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
Any online features?


What would you keep from previous games?
Bring back Open world. I'll also make it possible to traverse between worlds which would be a combination of Nraas traveler and Sims 4's world travel. I'll split up traits into sliders like sims 2. But there will be a lot more options than in Sims 2 and horoscope won't be a factor.
I will bring color wheel but not create a style. Instead I will give a body shop tool for create a style at a later date. I feel this will be less laggy.

What would you throw out?
Either Game packs or stuff packs. One of those has got to go. I'm leaning towards stuff packs. Let's face it, they're useless.

What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
I am down with both at this point. I am leaning towards realistic because we already had cartoony in Sims 4. I think it's good if we keep switching between realistic and cartoony each sequel to keep things fresh. But whichever style is the least taxing on hardware should be picked I think.

What is critical to have in the Base Game?
Every Sims game has a new thing. Sims 2 made it 3D. Sims 3 gave us Open world(and traits and moodlets). Sims 4 gave us multi-tasking and emotions(the latter was done quite badly imo). Sims 5 will instead bring back the old features and make it better and stable. So the open world and better personality sliders will be the main focus for me instead of another new feature.

What would you save for Expansions?
Mostly same as in Sims 3 I think. Vacation, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Careers, Cities and apartments(which will give us the option to rent normal houses too and if our sim owns multiple houses one of them can be rent out for other sims), Fame(with music careers, both instruments and singing in bands and standalone singing too PLEASE), Seasons(the usual), Pets (Controllable Dogs and cats, Minor pets), Farm and offgrid life style( Other animals like Horses, Pigs, Chicken and windmills and stuff)

What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
Sims 5 should focus on improving the old features and make a stable game with less glitches. I think that's what's been missing tbh. Instead of adding more and more features just make the old ones better. I think good optimization is what's missing from the franchise.

Any online features?
Absolutely not. Save those for mobile versions. Being able to download expansions via origin or whatever is fine but other features, no.

Traits system
So traits will be split into core personality, likes and dislikes, turn ons and turn offs (can be renamed as romantic yes and nos lol), quirks(optional), Hobbies and passion(Optional).

Core personality will have like a slider for cheerful-bitter, Neat freak-Slob, Nice-Rude, Good and bad sense of humour, Outgoing-Indoor lover, Lazy-Active, Dreamer-Cynical/Realists, Calm-Neurotic/Easy to Panic, Morality

Likes and dislikes:- You can have thing like Vehicle enthusiasts, Geeky things, Supernaturals and what not, A particular genre of music or book or TV show

Turn ons and turn offs:-Similar to TS2. Maybe things other than appearance like personality can be added too.

Quirks:-Things like Never Nude in TS3. Allergies, Phobias etc.

Hobbies and Passion:- You can get these as you play and develop interests or select in CAS too. The likes and dislikes can affect hobbies too. Passion is when you really get into your hobby and it's not just a hobby anymore.

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Mad Poster
#16 Old 4th Mar 2019 at 6:52 PM Last edited by HarVee : 4th Mar 2019 at 8:30 PM.
What would you keep from previous games?
  • Interactive Cars (TS2)
  • Wants and fears (TS2)
  • Zodiac signs (All)
  • Personality points (TS1, TS2)
  • Traits (TS3)
  • Crank calls (TS1)
  • Story progression (TS3)
  • Multi-tasking (TS4)
  • Custom radio stations (TS2)
  • Custom songs on default radio stations (TS1, TS2, TS4)
  • Custom neighborhoods (TS2)
  • Funny NPCs (Tragic Clown, social bunny, etc) (All)
  • Turn ons/offs (TS2)
  • Aspirations (TS2)
  • Career and Aspiration rewards (TS2)
  • Family/Lot budget panel (TS1)
  • Create-A-Sim Slider system (TS2, TS3)
What would you throw out?
  • Open world (TS3)
  • Emotions (TS4)
  • Create-A-Style (TS3)
  • Pinch and Grab Create-A-Sim (TS4)
  • Forced mobile phones (TS3, TS4)
What art style does your game go for? Realistic? Cartoony?
  • Both, alas TS2.
What is critical to have in the Base Game?
  • Terrain tools
  • Pools
  • Garages
  • Weather
  • Apartments
  • Hobbies
  • Colour wheel
  • Teens and Toddlers
  • Firemen, Policemen, Repairmen, Paramedics, Burglars
  • Dishwashers
What would you save for Expansions?
  • Supernaturals
  • Farming
  • Magic and Superpowers
  • OFB
  • Interactive careers
  • Nightclubs
  • Fame and Stardom
  • Vacations/Holidays
  • Pets
  • Gambling
What has been missing from the series and should be introduced?
  • Taxes
  • Neighborhood budget (Gained from taxes and bills)
  • Above-ground pools
  • Neighborhood road tool
  • Neighborhood mountain and water tool
  • Custom neighborhood terrain textures
  • Neighborhood terrain paint tool
  • Dynamic foliage
  • Wind
  • Physics-based clothing
  • Animated and functional ladders
  • Sims killing other sims.
  • Firing ranges
  • Useable firearms
  • Mary Jane, Cigarettes and Cigars
  • Prostitution
  • Prison
  • A "mature" rating.
Any online features?
  • Sharing screenshots, lots and sims.

Because the earth is standing still, and the truth becomes a lie
A choice profound is bittersweet, no one hears Cassandra Goth cry

Top Secret Researcher
#17 Old 7th Mar 2019 at 6:45 PM
Sort of on this note, I see Paradox have hired Rod Humble to open a new studio in Berkeley, California. Color me intrigued.
Mad Poster
#18 Old 7th Mar 2019 at 6:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
You would all get fired for creating unreasonable costly requirements and not enough ways to monetize the game.

Their official reason will probably be something like ' xx and EA are parting ways because of artistical differences' or something.

Unreasonable?

P.S. Sorry for my bad english.
Scholar
#19 Old 8th Mar 2019 at 1:20 AM
In from TS2:
  • Personality points
  • Skin/hair/eye genetics

In from TS3:
  • Open world
  • Traits
  • Face genetics
  • Packs building upon each other

In from TS4: Body sliders.

In for the first time:
  • After baby/toddler/child/preteen/teen, a gradually aging adult stage.
  • Inflicting disasters (illness, fire, burglary, job loss) (or was this in a console TS3, I don't know?)
  • "No Disasters" option
  • Starting funds option
  • Working-class jobs being playable
  • Adult content pack. An AO-rated sex and violence unlocker for any future content. Let's not kid ourselves, the adult modders make lots of money on Patreon.

In for the base: Everything needed for a solid working-to-middle-class suburban family life with a few basic hobbies.

In for expansions:
  • Urban (includes apartments and nightlife)
  • Rural (includes animals and farming)
  • University (introduces higher paying careers)
  • Active careers / business
  • Fame
  • Supernatural (enables setting world hair/eye/skin genetics)
  • Historical (enables setting world technology level - allowing you to disable smartphones)

Out: Linear "adventure" style gameplay. It has no place in The Sims. Put it in a spinoff if it must exist. "Emotions" system, likewise, needs to step aside and let the personality and traits come through first.

Art style: Not smeared in Vaseline.

Online: Only to share stuff. No co-op gameplay. We don't want another DylanSimz running around being a paying/shilling customer while exploiting minors.

1/8/2016: New avatar! Pre-censored for EA's approval.
3/19/2015: Teens are too close to YAs. EA needs to either shorten the teens, or add preteens and make YAs look older.
Alchemist
#20 Old 8th Mar 2019 at 9:51 AM
I really miss having having the sims be able to hit rock bottom, which is kind of what keeps me away from The Sims 4

what does his name even mean?
Scholar
#21 Old 8th Mar 2019 at 6:26 PM
Quote: Originally posted by SneakyWingPhoenix
Unreasonable?


From EA's perspective, yes. With all those listed features, too long development (so too costly) and not enough monetization possibilities if there is too much customization (not enough profit).

Somehow with you guys as lead developers, EA is suddenly going to let you create whatever you want? With current EA online and microtransactions strategy, you either get the job because your vision fits within theirs, or you don't get hired. So far what I read looks very interesting as a TS5 game, but I just never expect EA allowing that.
Inventor
#22 Old 8th Mar 2019 at 6:36 PM
Quote: Originally posted by ZenGarden
I really miss having having the sims be able to hit rock bottom, which is kind of what keeps me away from The Sims 4


In Sims 2, it was too easy to hit rock bottom though. Just a bunch of roaches and your Sim would have a mental breakdown.
Mad Poster
#23 Old 9th Mar 2019 at 10:26 PM Last edited by PANDAQUEEN : 10th Mar 2019 at 7:34 PM. Reason: Clarity and grammar
Quote: Originally posted by mithrak_nl
You would all get fired for creating unreasonable costly requirements and not enough ways to monetize the game.

Their official reason will probably be something like ' xx and EA are parting ways because of artistical differences' or something.


The monetization of the game is just one of the reasons people have held little regard to EA. (i.e. They are more focused on money than they are the overall quality of the product, so it was basically quantity over quality and the degree of how much quantity\quality varied by who was in charge of EA.) If it's something like an EP, GP or SP with a sizeable amount of content, it would be worth the cash. But microtransactions were what gave EA this money hungry image. Trust me, it may be tempting to market items with a price tag, but I would be turned off because prior to The Sims 3, they used to offer quite a bit of free and sometimes licensed content. The free content added by fellow users is the reason for this site. Simming is about playing for long periods of time, you can play it vanilla or you can download custom content to fit your tastes.

Besides, I am getting bored with The Sims 4. Small worlds with very little exploration and sometimes, it's hard to motivate an emotionally unbalanced Sim to get better and I am playing God. I would toss out the emotions feature.

I would probably agree that The Sims 5 would need to use a more polished realistic look that came in a rough form in The Sims 3. But what if there was an option between the two options of realistic and cartoony? I mean it because I sometimes add cartoon and anime characters to the mix.

And the height option. I absolutely cannot stress this enough. I prefer my sims to have a little realism and not stand shoulder to shoulder like everyone in their world. It's creepy.

Personally, a pre-teen and middle aged stage would be less jarring but thought should go into details to make the age stages more realistic in terms of progression during Young Adult, Adult and Middle Aged because between 18 and 65, there are subtleties during this set of stages.

I probably would keep small pets in the basegame and put larger pets in an EP. But unlike in TS3, small pets like rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish could either be bought or caught. In my TS3 game currently I have an African Grey Parrot named Grump (named after a somewhat vicious specimen comic artist Matthew Inman knew as a child) and larger pets can be controlled like in TS3. Why the hell they threw that out for TS4 still bothered me.

You win their money through sales.
You win loyalty through kind actions.

Personally, my relationship with EA is more like passing ships in the night: if something is worth buying and I am talking like a worthy add-on, I might buy it, but otherwise I don't bother and don't care.

If they can fix their reputation in every department at EA, I would gladly line up on launch day to download the latest game and add-ons.

The ideas expressed are just a few I mentioned off the top of my head. If they had CASt back along with an open world that had routing errors worked out for those who liked exploring the world (I enjoy a good gathering session) and maybe farming elements from the TS3 Store fleshed out to have the chicken coop with controllable and NPC chickens. Controllable Horses, pigs, sheep, cows and the ability to build barns and stables.

Personally, the chicken coop idea would be great to revive. My father got into a fight with a huge angry rooster known simply as "Sampson" when he was 5 years old. Sampson mistook my father for a rival rooster. Sampson nearly pecked one of his eyes out, but hit a temple instead. It would be fun to stage a revenge fight. I found that rooster to be freaky.

Either way, if I was in charge, I probably would make remakes of the various clothes and hairstyles from the entire history and it would be gender neutral, CAStable and all outfits would correspond to the theme of the EP involved.

But, it's just wishful thinking to do something of such magnitude.

Personal Quote: "I like my men like my sodas: tall boys." (Zevia has both 12 and 16 oz options)

(P.S. I'm about 5' (150cm) in height and easily scared)
Scholar
#24 Old 9th Mar 2019 at 11:16 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Naus Allien
In Sims 2, it was too easy to hit rock bottom though. Just a bunch of roaches and your Sim would have a mental breakdown.

Don't forget the dreaded "Burn Food" fear. If they rolled that, then no hot food for them.

1/8/2016: New avatar! Pre-censored for EA's approval.
3/19/2015: Teens are too close to YAs. EA needs to either shorten the teens, or add preteens and make YAs look older.
Mad Poster
#25 Old 11th Mar 2019 at 10:19 AM
Now that I remember... having a historical theme EP with a past, present and future to work with and by default in the basegame, if you want your sim without a phone, that's what you start with. It would be similar to The Sims 2, where a vending machine dispensed cell phones, MP3 players and handheld game systems. Of course, the age of the smart phone had changed things and the way you could have that machine dispense with variety would be to offer phones with different specs at different prices.

I actually agree with these ideas, albeit they were mentioned earlier in this forum thread, but the phone one would keep in line with Will Wright's inspiration of starting from scratch as did he and his family after the house fire that made this series all come together in its most base form.

Personal Quote: "I like my men like my sodas: tall boys." (Zevia has both 12 and 16 oz options)

(P.S. I'm about 5' (150cm) in height and easily scared)
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