G
Guest
Guest
alright correction on my "average person" comment.... the NEW avarage player does NOT want too spend more than a month too build their lot... is that better?
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G
Guest
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
you do have some good points about the "rares" and the point about working for what you want..... BUT the avarage person playing this game does not want too take a year too reach their goal... maybe a month of playing but not a year and the way it sits right now it will be a year for the avarage person too get everything they want in their money lot,skill lot, whatever they choose too open... im sure that everyones dream in this game is too have a lot where everyone come too..
edited for typos...
[/ QUOTE ]
That's when a player is going to have to adjust their expectations as much as the game is going to have to adjust the mechanics, to meet somewhere in the middle. If I wanted to play a game where I could reach all of my goals except for rares within a month, there are plenty of places to go for that. One of the best things this game has going for it right now *is* long term goals. What we need is for the people IN the game to become less "I want it now" and more goal-orientexd, or at the very least for the "I want it now" crowd to be willing to pay to get it now. The additon of the ATMs gave the instant gratification people their easy out. Without that, there would probably be more people crying about how 'hard' it is in-game right now, and before you ask, no.....I haven't plunked a nickel into it, but I know that if I ever decide to it is there for me to use rather than harping on how hard it is in-game. If that option wasn't there then I imagine everybody uniformally would be crying out for things to be easier....because that'd be the 'only' way to get things done. But that's not how it is. Those who are just set on being 'instant gratification' sims can still get what they want, when they wanted, and EA still gets the money that they would have gotten from their long-term subcriptions when they quit because they are bored since they've reached all their goals......they just get it quicker because that person spent $60 in the ATM instead of spending $60-$120 over 6 months to a year's time in subscription fees. Either way, EA wins and that's what they are in business for.....to 'win' (ie make a profit).
you do have some good points about the "rares" and the point about working for what you want..... BUT the avarage person playing this game does not want too take a year too reach their goal... maybe a month of playing but not a year and the way it sits right now it will be a year for the avarage person too get everything they want in their money lot,skill lot, whatever they choose too open... im sure that everyones dream in this game is too have a lot where everyone come too..
edited for typos...
[/ QUOTE ]
That's when a player is going to have to adjust their expectations as much as the game is going to have to adjust the mechanics, to meet somewhere in the middle. If I wanted to play a game where I could reach all of my goals except for rares within a month, there are plenty of places to go for that. One of the best things this game has going for it right now *is* long term goals. What we need is for the people IN the game to become less "I want it now" and more goal-orientexd, or at the very least for the "I want it now" crowd to be willing to pay to get it now. The additon of the ATMs gave the instant gratification people their easy out. Without that, there would probably be more people crying about how 'hard' it is in-game right now, and before you ask, no.....I haven't plunked a nickel into it, but I know that if I ever decide to it is there for me to use rather than harping on how hard it is in-game. If that option wasn't there then I imagine everybody uniformally would be crying out for things to be easier....because that'd be the 'only' way to get things done. But that's not how it is. Those who are just set on being 'instant gratification' sims can still get what they want, when they wanted, and EA still gets the money that they would have gotten from their long-term subcriptions when they quit because they are bored since they've reached all their goals......they just get it quicker because that person spent $60 in the ATM instead of spending $60-$120 over 6 months to a year's time in subscription fees. Either way, EA wins and that's what they are in business for.....to 'win' (ie make a profit).
G
Guest
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
Without sufficient drains built into the economy to drain simoleans back out of the game, the city will become flooded with too much money, thus causing inflation to take hold again and prices will rise. The more money players have, the more they are willing to spend for what they want and the cost of many objects will go up.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> I don't see the difference between not being able to buy something due to inflation, and not being able to buy something due to the depression. In the game right now, we have both at the same time.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
Uploading Custom content is really the only new drain built into the economy. This is one reason that player to player transactions do not count towards these earning caps. Money is not made or drained from the economy. It only moves from one user to another.
The cash out feature would be a new way to drain simoleans back out of the economy and balance with the cashin feature.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> There are many good methods of draining money that have been suggested over the years. Most are simple little things like 'object wearout'. "Cash-out", while effective, is nevertheless problematical, and in the context of 'balancing' should not be depended on to be a consistant method.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
The best way to combat the overproduction of simoleans by botters is to introduce even more drains so the excesses can be drained back out of the economy. Some of the suggested new drains would be the ability to change our appearances even more. The option to change our heads and the availability of more clothing choices are the best ideas for new drains that I have heard yet. Customizing objects has proved to be a succesful drain and I believe customizing our sims would be just as successful.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> True - "game friendly" drains are needed. But it must be remembered that the botters we are concerned about are the ones who have their eyes on the 'cash-out' prize, and will not be spending their simoleons on appearances and such - they will just continue to grind it out and hoard it.
That is why (IMO) these drains will have little, if any effect on them. We need drains (or whatever) that will directly affect the very people who are flooding the market.
Imposing more dictatorial rule on the 'normal player' is only going to create a severe shortage of 'normal players'.
There are many folks out in the world who have ideas - they may not be "great" ideas, but with a little thought, a little fleshing out, there might be a few good ones that can be integrated into the game.
Let's look at it like this: The devs have said many times that they prefer the community to help each other with problems - that's why we have tech threads and such. This is no different - the community helping the devs help the game.
Let's face it- right now, this 'cash-out'/botting situation has the game in a rut - if it can't be solved, the game will probably not survive.
All I'm saying is that 10,000 heads are better than 12.</font>
Without sufficient drains built into the economy to drain simoleans back out of the game, the city will become flooded with too much money, thus causing inflation to take hold again and prices will rise. The more money players have, the more they are willing to spend for what they want and the cost of many objects will go up.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> I don't see the difference between not being able to buy something due to inflation, and not being able to buy something due to the depression. In the game right now, we have both at the same time.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
Uploading Custom content is really the only new drain built into the economy. This is one reason that player to player transactions do not count towards these earning caps. Money is not made or drained from the economy. It only moves from one user to another.
The cash out feature would be a new way to drain simoleans back out of the economy and balance with the cashin feature.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> There are many good methods of draining money that have been suggested over the years. Most are simple little things like 'object wearout'. "Cash-out", while effective, is nevertheless problematical, and in the context of 'balancing' should not be depended on to be a consistant method.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
The best way to combat the overproduction of simoleans by botters is to introduce even more drains so the excesses can be drained back out of the economy. Some of the suggested new drains would be the ability to change our appearances even more. The option to change our heads and the availability of more clothing choices are the best ideas for new drains that I have heard yet. Customizing objects has proved to be a succesful drain and I believe customizing our sims would be just as successful.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> True - "game friendly" drains are needed. But it must be remembered that the botters we are concerned about are the ones who have their eyes on the 'cash-out' prize, and will not be spending their simoleons on appearances and such - they will just continue to grind it out and hoard it.
That is why (IMO) these drains will have little, if any effect on them. We need drains (or whatever) that will directly affect the very people who are flooding the market.
Imposing more dictatorial rule on the 'normal player' is only going to create a severe shortage of 'normal players'.
There are many folks out in the world who have ideas - they may not be "great" ideas, but with a little thought, a little fleshing out, there might be a few good ones that can be integrated into the game.
Let's look at it like this: The devs have said many times that they prefer the community to help each other with problems - that's why we have tech threads and such. This is no different - the community helping the devs help the game.
Let's face it- right now, this 'cash-out'/botting situation has the game in a rut - if it can't be solved, the game will probably not survive.
All I'm saying is that 10,000 heads are better than 12.</font>
G
Guest
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
<blockquote><hr>
Without sufficient drains built into the economy to drain simoleans back out of the game, the city will become flooded with too much money, thus causing inflation to take hold again and prices will rise. The more money players have, the more they are willing to spend for what they want and the cost of many objects will go up.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> I don't see the difference between not being able to buy something due to inflation, and not being able to buy something due to the depression. In the game right now, we have both at the same time.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
Uploading Custom content is really the only new drain built into the economy. This is one reason that player to player transactions do not count towards these earning caps. Money is not made or drained from the economy. It only moves from one user to another.
The cash out feature would be a new way to drain simoleans back out of the economy and balance with the cashin feature.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> There are many good methods of draining money that have been suggested over the years. Most are simple little things like 'object wearout'. "Cash-out", while effective, is nevertheless problematical, and in the context of 'balancing' should not be depended on to be a consistant method.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
The best way to combat the overproduction of simoleans by botters is to introduce even more drains so the excesses can be drained back out of the economy. Some of the suggested new drains would be the ability to change our appearances even more. The option to change our heads and the availability of more clothing choices are the best ideas for new drains that I have heard yet. Customizing objects has proved to be a succesful drain and I believe customizing our sims would be just as successful.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> True - "game friendly" drains are needed. But it must be remembered that the botters we are concerned about are the ones who have their eyes on the 'cash-out' prize, and will not be spending their simoleons on appearances and such - they will just continue to grind it out and hoard it.
That is why (IMO) these drains will have little, if any effect on them. We need drains (or whatever) that will directly affect the very people who are flooding the market.
Imposing more dictatorial rule on the 'normal player' is only going to create a severe shortage of 'normal players'.
There are many folks out in the world who have ideas - they may not be "great" ideas, but with a little thought, a little fleshing out, there might be a few good ones that can be integrated into the game.
Let's look at it like this: The devs have said many times that they prefer the community to help each other with problems - that's why we have tech threads and such. This is no different - the community helping the devs help the game.
Let's face it- right now, this 'cash-out'/botting situation has the game in a rut - if it can't be solved, the game will probably not survive.
All I'm saying is that 10,000 heads are better than 12.</font>
[/ QUOTE ]
We as a community can't really 'help' the devs though like you're talking about other than the brainstorming processes that we are all doing. None of us know enough about the code that the game uses to know whether or not the ideas that players suggest are feasible to be coded into the game. Our common sense can tell us that they'd be good ideas if it *is* practical and feasible to code it into the game, but only the devs hold that knowledge of whether or not it is possible, and that's not knowledge that they are willing to pass out to the general playerbase, for one obvious reason, in addition to however many 'unobvious' reasons there are: The more we as a player base know about their coding system, the more likely it is that anybody could take even a rudimentary knowledge of it, couple it with the higher knowledge they have of hacking into code and whatever technology is used to write the bot programs and boom....in a few months you have more bots. The only way to break that cycle is to keep the general concensus dumbed down to the point that we are now. So while it's frustrating as hell sometimes not to be able to get straight answers on some things, when I'm over the frustration I can see why they hold that kind of knowledge close to their chests.
You're not gonna like hearing this I know, nor are alot of other people, but I believe what is really needed is more patience and tolerance from we as a playerbase. Players need to decide for themselves how dedicated they are to seeing this game succeed, and if they ARE dedicated to its success then they need to be willing to go through all the growing pains that are necessary and not threatened to quit, or intimate that they are thinking of quitting, each time something comes along that they don't like. Some of us have 5 years invested into this game, yet some of the people who talk about leaving now are in that group of people who are now either walking or are ready to walk out. I don't see how anybody can do that and call themselves dedicated. Not logging in for a couple weeks or a month or whatever...yeah, I can understand getting fed up to that point, but to just walk away totally? I just don't understand that. What I've seen in the last few months is a whole lot of talk about what we expect from the devs and a whole lto about what we expect from the game....but not much talk about what we're willing to give up in order to see the game get better in the future. IMO, that needs to change.
<blockquote><hr>
Without sufficient drains built into the economy to drain simoleans back out of the game, the city will become flooded with too much money, thus causing inflation to take hold again and prices will rise. The more money players have, the more they are willing to spend for what they want and the cost of many objects will go up.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> I don't see the difference between not being able to buy something due to inflation, and not being able to buy something due to the depression. In the game right now, we have both at the same time.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
Uploading Custom content is really the only new drain built into the economy. This is one reason that player to player transactions do not count towards these earning caps. Money is not made or drained from the economy. It only moves from one user to another.
The cash out feature would be a new way to drain simoleans back out of the economy and balance with the cashin feature.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> There are many good methods of draining money that have been suggested over the years. Most are simple little things like 'object wearout'. "Cash-out", while effective, is nevertheless problematical, and in the context of 'balancing' should not be depended on to be a consistant method.</font>
<blockquote><hr>
The best way to combat the overproduction of simoleans by botters is to introduce even more drains so the excesses can be drained back out of the economy. Some of the suggested new drains would be the ability to change our appearances even more. The option to change our heads and the availability of more clothing choices are the best ideas for new drains that I have heard yet. Customizing objects has proved to be a succesful drain and I believe customizing our sims would be just as successful.
[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="green"> True - "game friendly" drains are needed. But it must be remembered that the botters we are concerned about are the ones who have their eyes on the 'cash-out' prize, and will not be spending their simoleons on appearances and such - they will just continue to grind it out and hoard it.
That is why (IMO) these drains will have little, if any effect on them. We need drains (or whatever) that will directly affect the very people who are flooding the market.
Imposing more dictatorial rule on the 'normal player' is only going to create a severe shortage of 'normal players'.
There are many folks out in the world who have ideas - they may not be "great" ideas, but with a little thought, a little fleshing out, there might be a few good ones that can be integrated into the game.
Let's look at it like this: The devs have said many times that they prefer the community to help each other with problems - that's why we have tech threads and such. This is no different - the community helping the devs help the game.
Let's face it- right now, this 'cash-out'/botting situation has the game in a rut - if it can't be solved, the game will probably not survive.
All I'm saying is that 10,000 heads are better than 12.</font>
[/ QUOTE ]
We as a community can't really 'help' the devs though like you're talking about other than the brainstorming processes that we are all doing. None of us know enough about the code that the game uses to know whether or not the ideas that players suggest are feasible to be coded into the game. Our common sense can tell us that they'd be good ideas if it *is* practical and feasible to code it into the game, but only the devs hold that knowledge of whether or not it is possible, and that's not knowledge that they are willing to pass out to the general playerbase, for one obvious reason, in addition to however many 'unobvious' reasons there are: The more we as a player base know about their coding system, the more likely it is that anybody could take even a rudimentary knowledge of it, couple it with the higher knowledge they have of hacking into code and whatever technology is used to write the bot programs and boom....in a few months you have more bots. The only way to break that cycle is to keep the general concensus dumbed down to the point that we are now. So while it's frustrating as hell sometimes not to be able to get straight answers on some things, when I'm over the frustration I can see why they hold that kind of knowledge close to their chests.
You're not gonna like hearing this I know, nor are alot of other people, but I believe what is really needed is more patience and tolerance from we as a playerbase. Players need to decide for themselves how dedicated they are to seeing this game succeed, and if they ARE dedicated to its success then they need to be willing to go through all the growing pains that are necessary and not threatened to quit, or intimate that they are thinking of quitting, each time something comes along that they don't like. Some of us have 5 years invested into this game, yet some of the people who talk about leaving now are in that group of people who are now either walking or are ready to walk out. I don't see how anybody can do that and call themselves dedicated. Not logging in for a couple weeks or a month or whatever...yeah, I can understand getting fed up to that point, but to just walk away totally? I just don't understand that. What I've seen in the last few months is a whole lot of talk about what we expect from the devs and a whole lto about what we expect from the game....but not much talk about what we're willing to give up in order to see the game get better in the future. IMO, that needs to change.
V
ValarieNicoleBF
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
I'm one of the lucky few that play like 10 hours a day...so if I was restricted and not able to play and have fun, there's lots of onlines out there to pay and play besides this one
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm also one of the ones who plays...a bit more than most
but I will stick with the game until they shut it down (or so I think for now)
I'm one of the lucky few that play like 10 hours a day...so if I was restricted and not able to play and have fun, there's lots of onlines out there to pay and play besides this one
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm also one of the ones who plays...a bit more than most
J
jammybob
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
You're not gonna like hearing this I know, nor are alot of other people, but I believe what is really needed is more patience and tolerance from we as a playerbase. Players need to decide for themselves how dedicated they are to seeing this game succeed, and if they ARE dedicated to its success then they need to be willing to go through all the growing pains that are necessary and not threatened to quit, or intimate that they are thinking of quitting, each time something comes along that they don't like. Some of us have 5 years invested into this game, yet some of the people who talk about leaving now are in that group of people who are now either walking or are ready to walk out. I don't see how anybody can do that and call themselves dedicated. Not logging in for a couple weeks or a month or whatever...yeah, I can understand getting fed up to that point, but to just walk away totally? I just don't understand that. What I've seen in the last few months is a whole lot of talk about what we expect from the devs and a whole lto about what we expect from the game....but not much talk about what we're willing to give up in order to see the game get better in the future. IMO, that needs to change.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, not going to like hearing that at all. In essence, you are saying that we must play a game that is no longer fun in order to make it fun?
Why would people do that when there are fun games out there already?
There is no excuse for taking the fun out of this game.
What was wrong with it before the money bug? No updates....thats the only thing that people complained about. There was nothing seriously wrong with the economy, there was inflation sure, but it didnt spoil peoples enjoyment. Didn't prevent us from building / remodaling etc.
If the devs are so concerned with botting, then they should be working on ways to prevent botting, not punishing the rest of us in-game for their actions.
There is no reason at all why we couldnt be playing TSO now and enjoying it while the devs work on anti-botting measures in the background.
If a botting program is blocked and another is created in a couple of months to take its place then find a blocking program for that too.
All this could be done without the rest of us even knowing anything is going on.
I simply dont get the rationale of making the customers pay for the ineptness of the devs in finding ways to stop botting without ruining the game for us.
You're not gonna like hearing this I know, nor are alot of other people, but I believe what is really needed is more patience and tolerance from we as a playerbase. Players need to decide for themselves how dedicated they are to seeing this game succeed, and if they ARE dedicated to its success then they need to be willing to go through all the growing pains that are necessary and not threatened to quit, or intimate that they are thinking of quitting, each time something comes along that they don't like. Some of us have 5 years invested into this game, yet some of the people who talk about leaving now are in that group of people who are now either walking or are ready to walk out. I don't see how anybody can do that and call themselves dedicated. Not logging in for a couple weeks or a month or whatever...yeah, I can understand getting fed up to that point, but to just walk away totally? I just don't understand that. What I've seen in the last few months is a whole lot of talk about what we expect from the devs and a whole lto about what we expect from the game....but not much talk about what we're willing to give up in order to see the game get better in the future. IMO, that needs to change.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, not going to like hearing that at all. In essence, you are saying that we must play a game that is no longer fun in order to make it fun?
Why would people do that when there are fun games out there already?
There is no excuse for taking the fun out of this game.
What was wrong with it before the money bug? No updates....thats the only thing that people complained about. There was nothing seriously wrong with the economy, there was inflation sure, but it didnt spoil peoples enjoyment. Didn't prevent us from building / remodaling etc.
If the devs are so concerned with botting, then they should be working on ways to prevent botting, not punishing the rest of us in-game for their actions.
There is no reason at all why we couldnt be playing TSO now and enjoying it while the devs work on anti-botting measures in the background.
If a botting program is blocked and another is created in a couple of months to take its place then find a blocking program for that too.
All this could be done without the rest of us even knowing anything is going on.
I simply dont get the rationale of making the customers pay for the ineptness of the devs in finding ways to stop botting without ruining the game for us.
J
jasminemoon
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
<blockquote><hr>
You're not gonna like hearing this I know, nor are alot of other people, but I believe what is really needed is more patience and tolerance from we as a playerbase. Players need to decide for themselves how dedicated they are to seeing this game succeed, and if they ARE dedicated to its success then they need to be willing to go through all the growing pains that are necessary and not threatened to quit, or intimate that they are thinking of quitting, each time something comes along that they don't like. Some of us have 5 years invested into this game, yet some of the people who talk about leaving now are in that group of people who are now either walking or are ready to walk out. I don't see how anybody can do that and call themselves dedicated. Not logging in for a couple weeks or a month or whatever...yeah, I can understand getting fed up to that point, but to just walk away totally? I just don't understand that. What I've seen in the last few months is a whole lot of talk about what we expect from the devs and a whole lto about what we expect from the game....but not much talk about what we're willing to give up in order to see the game get better in the future. IMO, that needs to change.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, not going to like hearing that at all. In essence, you are saying that we must play a game that is no longer fun in order to make it fun?
Why would people do that when there are fun games out there already?
There is no excuse for taking the fun out of this game.
What was wrong with it before the money bug? No updates....thats the only thing that people complained about. There was nothing seriously wrong with the economy, there was inflation sure, but it didnt spoil peoples enjoyment. Didn't prevent us from building / remodaling etc.
If the devs are so concerned with botting, then they should be working on ways to prevent botting, not punishing the rest of us in-game for their actions.
There is no reason at all why we couldnt be playing TSO now and enjoying it while the devs work on anti-botting measures in the background.
If a botting program is blocked and another is created in a couple of months to take its place then find a blocking program for that too.
All this could be done without the rest of us even knowing anything is going on.
I simply dont get the rationale of making the customers pay for the ineptness of the devs in finding ways to stop botting without ruining the game for us.
[/ QUOTE ]
Couldn't have said it better myself! If the devs really searched deep down, they'd realize that the game fizzled because it was being ignored! The boards were packed full of some really great ideas about how to improve the game and add things to make it fun; but it just got the the point where no one was doing anything, and no one was responding...the majority didn't give a flip about botters..the majority just wanted the devs to keep developing, AND it just wasn't happening!! It wasn't the economy that ran players off, it was the lack of implementing new ideas!!
And regarding billybugs post- I have to agree that he has some very valuable points! It may not be completely Totalitarian, but it is most definitely "Statistical discrimination". The majority of the players are being punished for the few minorities!
"Statistical discrimination is an economic theory of inequality based on group stereotypes. In its simplest version, individuals are discriminated against because stereotypes are held against the groups they are associated with. This type of preferential treatment is labeled "statistical" because stereotypes may be based on the discriminated group's <u>average behavior.</u> "
It seems that the devs have the idea that most of us were/are using botting programs- when in actuality, most of us were playing for hours and hours on end, having fun while doing so- until the programming fizzled.
(I had ALOT more to say in this post until the page I wrote disappeared when I submitted it *grr*.)
I realize that the devs are working hard to improve the game but it seems like one disappointment after another- things being taken away rather than given to make the game fun.
IT'S A GAME, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!! THAT IS THE POINT!
I guess the lava lamp game is now null and void? I know it wasn't the greatest thing since popcorn, but it was a goal that many set.
BiteMe said: "To say that 98% of us would not be effected by not being able to save more than 500 each week towards our goals is ridiculous.
The figures they have come up with only shows they have no idea of how a large percentage of us do play the game.
We have to remember that none of the devs have actually got in and played the game. They frequent the game yes, but none can form any opinion from actually having the played the game for any decent length of time. Not the way us regular subscribed players can anyway.
With that in mind think about how a dev who does not know normal game play would be able to think of what to include in a database search or not."
And that is precisely why they should have a dev come into the group whose sole purpose is to play the game, without cheats, just like any other player that comes in without anything at all to begin with, just like I did (my only exception is that I may get my future amnesty).
Cbrewton said: "As far as building costs go, It is possible to build some nice, albeit plain, lots until you build up money for the 'luxury' stuff like pillars and so forth. That's stuff that makes a house look 'fancy and unique' but is not really a vital part of building, so I have no problem paying extra for those if I want them on my lots......but I do realize that I am in the minority with that thinking. But really if you think about it there are usually noticeable differences in RL between a $200,000 USD home and a $500,000 or 1 million dollar USD home. Those that want the fancy stuff can work for it....those that don't can have a regular house at the regular prices."
That may be so in TC3, but it is most untrue in EA-Land. With the money objects with such low pay and the costs of the lots, building and furnishing so VERY high - it will be virtually impossible to ever buy a lot (at EA-Land prices); and especially to build walls, add wallpaper, and tiles at all. I've been back about a month and I'm not EVEN close to having the money to buy even a very cheap lot! (I think my sim has about 1k- and some of that came from the dreaded ATM that I swore to myself I'd never use!) And don't see it happening anytime soon, at all, unless things change!
and..What part of a game involves "giv{ing} up in order to see the game get better in the future.". I thought that was the reason I was PAYING for it!! What exactly do you expect a paying player to give? I already give my time, ideas (ie. blueprints/wiki), opinion, and my money! I suppose your are suggesting that the playerbase is supposed to just sit on their laurels and wait for the game to be fun again? What kind of suggestion is that? (I don't mean to attack you..it just seems extremely odd for a GAME THAT WE PLAY FOR FUN.) I'm sorry but I don't think new players are going to hang around to wait to have the fun that the game promises..just doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever.
Besides that, you compared the house costs to RL. THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE REAL LIFE...IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FANTASY!!! THAT IS THE POINT OF HAVING FUN, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A GAME: AN ESCAPE!! WE SHOULDN'T WALK AROUND BEING "POOR" WHEN WE MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT IN THE GAME NOT TO BE! hmph (not yelling at you, just trying to make a point to all).
AND plz, no one say to me, well then just "quit", because if everyone here that disagrees with this new implementation "just quit" they player base will become very, very small (how much fun will it be then, how long will it last?)! The point is to KEEP players around is it not??!!
AND don't tell me I should play for free, I am a paid player because I am setting goals and REALLY want to achieve them (although with all these new measures it's beginning to look extremely grim!). I pay for my account(s) because I want the devs to see that I am in support of them implementing a FUN GAME!
I agree with some others that a poll should be taken about removing the "cash out" feature. I've seen many that could really care less, and those that are here for that reason- aren't really here to play for fun IMHO- maybe if majority speaks up, they could allow those that were really wanted to "cash out" to do so, remember EA could set the cash out at whatever they want!, and then get rid of it entirely! No skin off my back (and from what I've gathered, most others either).
And the only reason I'm even concerned about getting my 500/wk paid player money is because it is SO VERY difficult to make money in game right now!! If I could make money in the game like I should be able to- then I wouldn't care about it a fig.
I don't expect to become a rich player overnight, but it would be nice if I could EVEN afford to buy a small lot in the near future, and that doesn't seem to be happening AT all, especially if they keep implementing these new monetary "punishments" to the mostly honest player base!
Regarding percentages, my bet is the percentage of people that actually care whether or not there are botters is A LOT lower than the percentage of people that are unhappy with the current direction the game is going. I was one that, back in the day, petitioned for CC, and am really glad that the devs implemented it, BUT what is the purpose, if I cannot even afford to even create it??!!! Not that I could do anything with it anyway, seeing how I don't have a store lot (and..the way things are going..won't even in the next year or more) to sell them on!!
If the devs really want us to shell out tons of cash through ATM, and "cash out" later, then they just need to come clean! AND if that is their purpose, then they should let us know NOW what the cash out will be (at least 60% return, or whatever)..so that those of us that have played for so very long aren't being kept in the dark, only to get more "emotional" later and completely quit the game!
Okay, end rant...
PLZ DEVS listen to your consumers!
Jasmine
<blockquote><hr>
You're not gonna like hearing this I know, nor are alot of other people, but I believe what is really needed is more patience and tolerance from we as a playerbase. Players need to decide for themselves how dedicated they are to seeing this game succeed, and if they ARE dedicated to its success then they need to be willing to go through all the growing pains that are necessary and not threatened to quit, or intimate that they are thinking of quitting, each time something comes along that they don't like. Some of us have 5 years invested into this game, yet some of the people who talk about leaving now are in that group of people who are now either walking or are ready to walk out. I don't see how anybody can do that and call themselves dedicated. Not logging in for a couple weeks or a month or whatever...yeah, I can understand getting fed up to that point, but to just walk away totally? I just don't understand that. What I've seen in the last few months is a whole lot of talk about what we expect from the devs and a whole lto about what we expect from the game....but not much talk about what we're willing to give up in order to see the game get better in the future. IMO, that needs to change.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, not going to like hearing that at all. In essence, you are saying that we must play a game that is no longer fun in order to make it fun?
Why would people do that when there are fun games out there already?
There is no excuse for taking the fun out of this game.
What was wrong with it before the money bug? No updates....thats the only thing that people complained about. There was nothing seriously wrong with the economy, there was inflation sure, but it didnt spoil peoples enjoyment. Didn't prevent us from building / remodaling etc.
If the devs are so concerned with botting, then they should be working on ways to prevent botting, not punishing the rest of us in-game for their actions.
There is no reason at all why we couldnt be playing TSO now and enjoying it while the devs work on anti-botting measures in the background.
If a botting program is blocked and another is created in a couple of months to take its place then find a blocking program for that too.
All this could be done without the rest of us even knowing anything is going on.
I simply dont get the rationale of making the customers pay for the ineptness of the devs in finding ways to stop botting without ruining the game for us.
[/ QUOTE ]
Couldn't have said it better myself! If the devs really searched deep down, they'd realize that the game fizzled because it was being ignored! The boards were packed full of some really great ideas about how to improve the game and add things to make it fun; but it just got the the point where no one was doing anything, and no one was responding...the majority didn't give a flip about botters..the majority just wanted the devs to keep developing, AND it just wasn't happening!! It wasn't the economy that ran players off, it was the lack of implementing new ideas!!
And regarding billybugs post- I have to agree that he has some very valuable points! It may not be completely Totalitarian, but it is most definitely "Statistical discrimination". The majority of the players are being punished for the few minorities!
"Statistical discrimination is an economic theory of inequality based on group stereotypes. In its simplest version, individuals are discriminated against because stereotypes are held against the groups they are associated with. This type of preferential treatment is labeled "statistical" because stereotypes may be based on the discriminated group's <u>average behavior.</u> "
It seems that the devs have the idea that most of us were/are using botting programs- when in actuality, most of us were playing for hours and hours on end, having fun while doing so- until the programming fizzled.
(I had ALOT more to say in this post until the page I wrote disappeared when I submitted it *grr*.)
I realize that the devs are working hard to improve the game but it seems like one disappointment after another- things being taken away rather than given to make the game fun.
IT'S A GAME, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!! THAT IS THE POINT!
I guess the lava lamp game is now null and void? I know it wasn't the greatest thing since popcorn, but it was a goal that many set.
BiteMe said: "To say that 98% of us would not be effected by not being able to save more than 500 each week towards our goals is ridiculous.
The figures they have come up with only shows they have no idea of how a large percentage of us do play the game.
We have to remember that none of the devs have actually got in and played the game. They frequent the game yes, but none can form any opinion from actually having the played the game for any decent length of time. Not the way us regular subscribed players can anyway.
With that in mind think about how a dev who does not know normal game play would be able to think of what to include in a database search or not."
And that is precisely why they should have a dev come into the group whose sole purpose is to play the game, without cheats, just like any other player that comes in without anything at all to begin with, just like I did (my only exception is that I may get my future amnesty).
Cbrewton said: "As far as building costs go, It is possible to build some nice, albeit plain, lots until you build up money for the 'luxury' stuff like pillars and so forth. That's stuff that makes a house look 'fancy and unique' but is not really a vital part of building, so I have no problem paying extra for those if I want them on my lots......but I do realize that I am in the minority with that thinking. But really if you think about it there are usually noticeable differences in RL between a $200,000 USD home and a $500,000 or 1 million dollar USD home. Those that want the fancy stuff can work for it....those that don't can have a regular house at the regular prices."
That may be so in TC3, but it is most untrue in EA-Land. With the money objects with such low pay and the costs of the lots, building and furnishing so VERY high - it will be virtually impossible to ever buy a lot (at EA-Land prices); and especially to build walls, add wallpaper, and tiles at all. I've been back about a month and I'm not EVEN close to having the money to buy even a very cheap lot! (I think my sim has about 1k- and some of that came from the dreaded ATM that I swore to myself I'd never use!) And don't see it happening anytime soon, at all, unless things change!
and..What part of a game involves "giv{ing} up in order to see the game get better in the future.". I thought that was the reason I was PAYING for it!! What exactly do you expect a paying player to give? I already give my time, ideas (ie. blueprints/wiki), opinion, and my money! I suppose your are suggesting that the playerbase is supposed to just sit on their laurels and wait for the game to be fun again? What kind of suggestion is that? (I don't mean to attack you..it just seems extremely odd for a GAME THAT WE PLAY FOR FUN.) I'm sorry but I don't think new players are going to hang around to wait to have the fun that the game promises..just doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever.
Besides that, you compared the house costs to RL. THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE REAL LIFE...IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FANTASY!!! THAT IS THE POINT OF HAVING FUN, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A GAME: AN ESCAPE!! WE SHOULDN'T WALK AROUND BEING "POOR" WHEN WE MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT IN THE GAME NOT TO BE! hmph (not yelling at you, just trying to make a point to all).
AND plz, no one say to me, well then just "quit", because if everyone here that disagrees with this new implementation "just quit" they player base will become very, very small (how much fun will it be then, how long will it last?)! The point is to KEEP players around is it not??!!
AND don't tell me I should play for free, I am a paid player because I am setting goals and REALLY want to achieve them (although with all these new measures it's beginning to look extremely grim!). I pay for my account(s) because I want the devs to see that I am in support of them implementing a FUN GAME!
I agree with some others that a poll should be taken about removing the "cash out" feature. I've seen many that could really care less, and those that are here for that reason- aren't really here to play for fun IMHO- maybe if majority speaks up, they could allow those that were really wanted to "cash out" to do so, remember EA could set the cash out at whatever they want!, and then get rid of it entirely! No skin off my back (and from what I've gathered, most others either).
And the only reason I'm even concerned about getting my 500/wk paid player money is because it is SO VERY difficult to make money in game right now!! If I could make money in the game like I should be able to- then I wouldn't care about it a fig.
I don't expect to become a rich player overnight, but it would be nice if I could EVEN afford to buy a small lot in the near future, and that doesn't seem to be happening AT all, especially if they keep implementing these new monetary "punishments" to the mostly honest player base!
Regarding percentages, my bet is the percentage of people that actually care whether or not there are botters is A LOT lower than the percentage of people that are unhappy with the current direction the game is going. I was one that, back in the day, petitioned for CC, and am really glad that the devs implemented it, BUT what is the purpose, if I cannot even afford to even create it??!!! Not that I could do anything with it anyway, seeing how I don't have a store lot (and..the way things are going..won't even in the next year or more) to sell them on!!
If the devs really want us to shell out tons of cash through ATM, and "cash out" later, then they just need to come clean! AND if that is their purpose, then they should let us know NOW what the cash out will be (at least 60% return, or whatever)..so that those of us that have played for so very long aren't being kept in the dark, only to get more "emotional" later and completely quit the game!
Okay, end rant...
PLZ DEVS listen to your consumers!
Jasmine
J
jafo1972
Guest
I understand them wanting to stop botters, but this is also at the factory(and probably other jobs, as well). I'm no expert but I can't see a "job" bot being very profitable when compared to the multiplayer job objects. There is too much randomness, as far as I can tell, to make a bot that could, say, watch for breakdowns and repair the workstations. Not to mention that you would often be working with other players that could very easily disrupt the timing of the bot. I have begun to see these "anti-botting" measures for what they really are, a ploy to make us buy simoleans from the ATMs if we need money in a pinch.
If EA had really cared about botters from day 1, they would have gone after the ones that couldn't have been more obvious in the game when they were reported. I was at a money lot long ago where we had fun with a botter, he was reported to EA and still stayed on the lot for many hours. We kept interupting his greening and selling cycles, so it was worth it. I kept this particular sim bookmarked for a few days and would go to houses where he was working just so the owners and roomies could share the fun. Once he stopped making any money, he stopped playing the game. As far as I could tell, nobody from EA ever did anything about him, it was us players making his bot unprofitable that got rid of him.
EA could easily make the "jobs" immune from the earning limit since these count for our "income" on the user interface while the money objects don't. I'm down to my $1 per round at the factory and I still go in for the credit to my promo. If EA decides to take that away then I will reconsider having a job in the game. As was stated before, botters will find a way around these measures. I hate to say it, but this could become a death spiral. The harder you make it on the botters, the harder you make it on us normal players. If you make it too hard for us to make money, people will jump ship. This might not matter to those that want to get rid of those pesky "free players" like myself that don't bother people, but when EA starts to lose paying players, it will make them take notice. And no amount of cajoling will bring back players that were only recently enticed to give it another shot, like myself.
Fortunately, money isn't everything or I would be heading toward the door already.
If EA had really cared about botters from day 1, they would have gone after the ones that couldn't have been more obvious in the game when they were reported. I was at a money lot long ago where we had fun with a botter, he was reported to EA and still stayed on the lot for many hours. We kept interupting his greening and selling cycles, so it was worth it. I kept this particular sim bookmarked for a few days and would go to houses where he was working just so the owners and roomies could share the fun. Once he stopped making any money, he stopped playing the game. As far as I could tell, nobody from EA ever did anything about him, it was us players making his bot unprofitable that got rid of him.
EA could easily make the "jobs" immune from the earning limit since these count for our "income" on the user interface while the money objects don't. I'm down to my $1 per round at the factory and I still go in for the credit to my promo. If EA decides to take that away then I will reconsider having a job in the game. As was stated before, botters will find a way around these measures. I hate to say it, but this could become a death spiral. The harder you make it on the botters, the harder you make it on us normal players. If you make it too hard for us to make money, people will jump ship. This might not matter to those that want to get rid of those pesky "free players" like myself that don't bother people, but when EA starts to lose paying players, it will make them take notice. And no amount of cajoling will bring back players that were only recently enticed to give it another shot, like myself.
Fortunately, money isn't everything or I would be heading toward the door already.
G
Guest
Guest
I definitely agree with you jas!!!
i play this game twice a week, i hardly have time to make money much less with this new "bot" coming in. it will only make my goals impossible!. people only think of themselves. lets say 10 hours a week.. it will take me 3 years to do what i wanna do with no fun in between just work work work, its bad enough things are very expensive, n very low pay. 3 years of no fun is 3 years im willing to save on money.
EA is very selfish and they only worry about them selves. I have a wife and kids to feed n gas to put in my car for work.. n 9.99 is enough to spend on this game much less more of my money to get fake money.
EA and all you players that are sticking up for EA SOME OF US DO NOT HAVE THE TIME LIKE YOU DO TO RAISE MONEY i would definitely like to have my goals completed in a reasonable amount time. i would most likely want to have a house to be able to play at n have friends come over. thats my FIRST goal. You can accomplish a goal very quick but doesnt mean you wont have anymore fun after that lol you can make new goal's to accomplish
Be4 i had kids i was always playing, n making new goals to keep my game fun and it doesnt matter if i accomplished my goals so fast it's the fact i keep coming up with new goals n having fun.
Now that im very limited to playing and with this bot thing coming my goals n new goals i may come up with will take YEARS
EA needs NEW DEVS if this game is goin the way it is, honestly this game is not what they said it will be like, we are paying this game to control what we do, i do not pay 9.99 for people to tell me how to earn my money how to spend my money n how much i can earn, its a big problem to alot of us.
They r punishing 98% of ealand cuz of 2% if thats the case you should work on SCAMMERS and PEOPLE WHO SEXUALITY HARRASS PEOPLE other than people taking money from you!!!!! (i have been a victim of this by males/females making "offensive" names and making the game not very fun for me so i banned n reported em n with the "free" accounts they pop right back in keep doin it countless times since its FREE just one of many mistakes u have made with this approached of EA-Land)
Take out the Cash out Feature.. that is why this game is the way it is now, thats your first mistake, people play this game to have fun not make real money.. if thats the case we will just use EBAY.
The direction of this game is on the way to disfuncted, if you keep it up, might as well just pay em for nothing because thats what it seems to be anymore. its became money hungry n very false!!!
I suggest you devs do something about the other stuff thats going on in EALAND if your soooooo worried about the 2% with bots. its pathetic n not very professional.
I would love to stick around n play this game for many years but with many goals accomplished as well, just not waiting for one goal to be accomplished. i have alot of ideas n i can only fillful one at a time, soon none or years to fillful another one!
Ima stick around n see how this unfolds but if it continues on this path.. i bet you will fail n all the money people will spend on this game will go to other games n you'll lose out!
PS dont be offended by this just voicing my opinion.. dont bother disgreeing with me or tryin to make me see your side cuz it wont happen its how i feel n we all play this game very differently it may work out for you.. but it certainly wont for me THE END
i play this game twice a week, i hardly have time to make money much less with this new "bot" coming in. it will only make my goals impossible!. people only think of themselves. lets say 10 hours a week.. it will take me 3 years to do what i wanna do with no fun in between just work work work, its bad enough things are very expensive, n very low pay. 3 years of no fun is 3 years im willing to save on money.
EA is very selfish and they only worry about them selves. I have a wife and kids to feed n gas to put in my car for work.. n 9.99 is enough to spend on this game much less more of my money to get fake money.
EA and all you players that are sticking up for EA SOME OF US DO NOT HAVE THE TIME LIKE YOU DO TO RAISE MONEY i would definitely like to have my goals completed in a reasonable amount time. i would most likely want to have a house to be able to play at n have friends come over. thats my FIRST goal. You can accomplish a goal very quick but doesnt mean you wont have anymore fun after that lol you can make new goal's to accomplish
Be4 i had kids i was always playing, n making new goals to keep my game fun and it doesnt matter if i accomplished my goals so fast it's the fact i keep coming up with new goals n having fun.
Now that im very limited to playing and with this bot thing coming my goals n new goals i may come up with will take YEARS
EA needs NEW DEVS if this game is goin the way it is, honestly this game is not what they said it will be like, we are paying this game to control what we do, i do not pay 9.99 for people to tell me how to earn my money how to spend my money n how much i can earn, its a big problem to alot of us.
They r punishing 98% of ealand cuz of 2% if thats the case you should work on SCAMMERS and PEOPLE WHO SEXUALITY HARRASS PEOPLE other than people taking money from you!!!!! (i have been a victim of this by males/females making "offensive" names and making the game not very fun for me so i banned n reported em n with the "free" accounts they pop right back in keep doin it countless times since its FREE just one of many mistakes u have made with this approached of EA-Land)
Take out the Cash out Feature.. that is why this game is the way it is now, thats your first mistake, people play this game to have fun not make real money.. if thats the case we will just use EBAY.
The direction of this game is on the way to disfuncted, if you keep it up, might as well just pay em for nothing because thats what it seems to be anymore. its became money hungry n very false!!!
I suggest you devs do something about the other stuff thats going on in EALAND if your soooooo worried about the 2% with bots. its pathetic n not very professional.
I would love to stick around n play this game for many years but with many goals accomplished as well, just not waiting for one goal to be accomplished. i have alot of ideas n i can only fillful one at a time, soon none or years to fillful another one!
Ima stick around n see how this unfolds but if it continues on this path.. i bet you will fail n all the money people will spend on this game will go to other games n you'll lose out!
PS dont be offended by this just voicing my opinion.. dont bother disgreeing with me or tryin to make me see your side cuz it wont happen its how i feel n we all play this game very differently it may work out for you.. but it certainly wont for me THE END
G
Guest
Guest
<blockquote><hr>
EA is very selfish and they only worry about them selves. I have a wife and kids to feed n gas to put in my car for work.. n 9.99 is enough to spend on this game much less more of my money to get fake money.
[/ QUOTE ]
This quote, is just the last straw for me....you are not the only one who seems to think that the game companies should be run like some kind of non-profit charity.
To everyone who thinks that a business is 'selfish' for trying to stay alive (make a profit)....
EA is a business, with thousand of employees, who just like you at your job, are depending on the company's ability to make a profit, so they can keep their jobs and pay the rent/mortgage, feed their kids and put gas in their cars! The company also has over 300 million shares being held by their shareholders, who are counting on the company to turn a profit, to fund their 401 K's and pay for their needs, as well.
Saying that a company with more dependents than you will ever have, is being 'selfish' to try to make enough money to support them, is just unreal!
This is a computer game....not a charity. Everyone who plays online games are already in the elite population....counted among the minority of the world, who have regular access to a computer, internet service and the leisure to play games instead of spending every minute, just trying to survive.
If anyone is so close to not feeding their family, that $10 a month is going to make a difference, then shame on them for paying to play online games at all!
EA is very selfish and they only worry about them selves. I have a wife and kids to feed n gas to put in my car for work.. n 9.99 is enough to spend on this game much less more of my money to get fake money.
[/ QUOTE ]
This quote, is just the last straw for me....you are not the only one who seems to think that the game companies should be run like some kind of non-profit charity.
To everyone who thinks that a business is 'selfish' for trying to stay alive (make a profit)....
EA is a business, with thousand of employees, who just like you at your job, are depending on the company's ability to make a profit, so they can keep their jobs and pay the rent/mortgage, feed their kids and put gas in their cars! The company also has over 300 million shares being held by their shareholders, who are counting on the company to turn a profit, to fund their 401 K's and pay for their needs, as well.
Saying that a company with more dependents than you will ever have, is being 'selfish' to try to make enough money to support them, is just unreal!
This is a computer game....not a charity. Everyone who plays online games are already in the elite population....counted among the minority of the world, who have regular access to a computer, internet service and the leisure to play games instead of spending every minute, just trying to survive.
If anyone is so close to not feeding their family, that $10 a month is going to make a difference, then shame on them for paying to play online games at all!
G
Guest
Guest
Take out the Cash out Feature.. that is why this game is the way it is now, thats your first mistake, people play this game to have fun not make real money.. if thats the case we will just use EBAY.
I have no idea about in the US or other countries but in the UK you cannot list any TSO/EALand items for sale on e-bay, it has been this way for over a year now.
I have no idea about in the US or other countries but in the UK you cannot list any TSO/EALand items for sale on e-bay, it has been this way for over a year now.
G
Guest
Guest
Your right Gilly, i was just letting out my anger.. but theres no reason for me to be bringing down EA, you know how it gets sometimes. i apologize to everyone who i offended.. and for the person about the Sims/Ebay i had no idea
Gilly ty and tc
Gilly ty and tc