EA-Land Devs off track...

[ephemeral]

I think that the EALand developers have seriously lost track of the basic objectives of the refurbishment of the game and also have lost track of what made this game so great to begin with.

I am not faulting their efforts--which have been Herculean, however somewhere along the line, they got so caught up in making specific changes, that they lost sight of why many (if not most) of us played TSO.

IMO, instead of trying to totally re-invent the economy and place such complicated systems and restrictions on the players (the vast majority of whom play by the rules), if they would simply enforce the current TOS and ROC instead of allowing every scammer right back into the game. Permanent bans, while not foolproof, will eventually discourage those individuals who engage in the activity (how many ISP's can they go through).

Instead of allowing CC to be added to the game willy nilly (which has created obvious infrastructure problems), they could have allowed for a certain amount of limited types of items in.

Time and again, the developers have insisted on pushing "updates" into the game, apparently with absolutely no idea what the impact will be--causing many to become unable to even log into the game. Instead of stopping to correct the problem, they press ahead--not really addressing the problems those who are messed up are having. If they issue a workaround, it comes out inconsistently in various locations and the wording/explanation is cryptic at best.

Right now, I get the distinct impression that EALand is simply a toy for the developers and they are making changes simply because they can--thinly disguised as "improvements." The new games rules and methodology are not well thought out--they are instituting these changes as they think them up.

Once again (as I have before), I implore Lee and the developers to please take a step back. Re-examine what it is that's really wrong with the game (not really all that much before, IMO)--and what really needs changing. Please stop moving forward with continuous "upgrades" and take the time to get the game working properly first. Make sure that people can download the game without incident; make sure they can log into the game without having to go through ridiculous contortions and silly fine tuning of shortcuts and other path related problems; please create a sub-program that deletes caches automatically as part of the login or out, so people don'thave to go searching through their hard drives to do it manually each time they play.

First things first. PLEASE!

 

[NightFlyer]

*applauds*

 

[imported_Shirl1211]

Very well said and i'm in total agreement with you!! And for Pete's sake, lower the cost of building!!! Pleaseeeeee

 

[mike1977]

Yeah, $500 for a single baboon beach barrier purchase?!...geez. And spend $20 at the ATM for simoleans to build and you'll use it all up before you really get anywhere on building.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Very well said and i'm in total agreement with you!! And for Pete's sake, lower the cost of building!!! Pleaseeeeee

[/ QUOTE ]

And not to forget lowering the prices of lots as well.

 

[Katiebeth]

..stands up from seat, starts clapping..
Nicely said an I agree 200%

 

[imported_CherryBomb]

The crashes and log-in problems are the kind programming issues that you could expect when making a change like adding custom content. I also expect them to be fixed. The team has some very competent programmers. They are also making progress on communicating info to the players; I like the new dev messages topic in Stratics.

The inept handling of the economy, however, is a design failure that just makes me wanna slap my forehead. At some point, someone out there will have to realize that you cannot balance a TSO-style economy (with player generated money) by "tweaking" it. We're going to have to give up either the balanced economy or give up faucets and drains. Since faucets and drains are 80-90% of the game play, I say give up on having a balanced economy.

CherryBomb

 

[DGLita]

I think you are all missing a very important point here, this is NOT The Sims Online.

The Sims Online was slated for deletion last year because it was old and the majority of players had lost the will to play it. It was no longer generating enough income to justify its existance. The plain fact is we should have been receiving 90 day closure notice in March 2007, with the game finally closing down in June 2007.

The dev team have taken what was an ailing out of date game, and put new life into it. BUT they couldnt do that without making drastic changes to it. You may be right that they have rushed changes in , but how else are they gonna test them? It has to go into the game, with the players, to work it out.

Yes they will make mistakes, and I believe this game will be in beta for a considerable time possibly a year or more. BUt this is great news for us, the original game was in beta for only 3 or 4 months before it went live, this time the devs are really trying to make it work,and thats good news for us too in the long run

Remember, this game was dead in the water, by rights we shouldn't even be here discussing it any longer

 

[Guest]

At the rate things are going, I don't see it lasting much longer. If any form of a cap comes into the game, many will leave. What is the point of having a cap when everything costs so much money. I understand TSO is gone. But, saying this game is an improved version is a lie. Yes, there are good things going on but in my opinion the bad outweigh the good right now.

 

[Guest]

I agree 100 percent with what shes saying ... shes saying slow down fix whats broken before you go to the next update... we all want change we all want updates but the updates are comming at too many costs... their not fixing what thier breaking! payouts are low cost of living is too high hard to build hard to do anything unless your a player like me and have several accounts. Shouldnt have to have extra accounts unless you choose to not because its a neccessity!

 

[poppet]

TTL

Like i said before if they implement the 3000 initial pool with 500 additions, or any other such stupid cap, i will put all my simoleans on one av, change it to a free player and play til the money runs out and quit

 

[Guest]

They have to do something. I logged into another online game (It's a cute expression of excitement... lol) and had a blast. I have been missing fun in EAL since they merged. Having money made it possible for us to enjoy the game and not worry "How and I going to feed my guests?" Tips always help, but most people don't do this. Visitor bonus was basically how the houses got paid for keeping their house open. I think keeping a house open is a job. It may be the most fun job there is and the least rewarding one, but at least the visitor bonus helped with some of the expenses.

 

[DGLita]

I dont like the cap either, but from Sarah's recent update they are rethinking that. They have taken on board our concerns about it and are looking at it again. A 3k limit with a 500 a week credit is ridiculous, we know it and now the devs know it, but there will no doubt have to be a limit of some sort imposed. I guess they are now very aware that they will lose a lot of players if this very limited cap comes into force.

The thing is tho, Sims Oline has always been a game that has been focussed on skilling and making money. The devs want the game to move away from that, and they want and need the players to get involved in all apsects of it, not just those 2 aspects, This is what they mean by 'bot like behavior', just skilling and then making money isnt being involved in all aspects. They are trying to reeducate us to play EALand and not The Sims Online.

I think its a shame they had to disguise this move as 'anti botting' we all quickly saw through that. The devs need to treat us like the adults most of the players are and give us the truth and some respect. We are not idiots.

 

[Guest]

Agreed.
And I do love the devs and appreciate all their hard work.

 

[Shadowbay]

you arent the only one that feels that way ... I think a lot more than they realize are thinking the same thing, it takes all of my SIMs to make enough SIMOLEONS to purchase a decent item, and building, thats just out of the question! .. So to cap it where it will take 4 maybe 5 times the amount of time to reach a goal is insane. its spring now and I dont play as much, so free play is looking better and better.





Open Fire Now !!! ...

 

[ephemeral]

I sincerely hope that the topic of this thread is the reason we have not heard much from the devs in the last few days. Perhaps they are FINALLY stopping and re-assessing where this whole re-design thing is headed. Hopefully, when they get moving again, it will be with better prioritizing of the tasks and better utilization of their programmers--to make the game run properly first and foremost.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the EA big cheeses have called the EALand dev team in and said, "Look, it ain't flying. We don't see significant improvement in subscription revenues. People are unhappy with how the game runs. You haven't been able to generate significant sales via the 'ATM' scheme. Just leave it be already and we'll just let it die out from attrition...Just make sure it's running reasonably and leave the room--report immediately to your new assignments."

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I sincerely hope that the topic of this thread is the reason we have not heard much from the devs in the last few days. Perhaps they are FINALLY stopping and re-assessing where this whole re-design thing is headed. Hopefully, when they get moving again, it will be with better prioritizing of the tasks and better utilization of their programmers--to make the game run properly first and foremost.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the EA big cheeses have called the EALand dev team in and said, "Look, it ain't flying. We don't see significant improvement in subscription revenues. People are unhappy with how the game runs. You haven't been able to generate significant sales via the 'ATM' scheme. Just leave it be already and we'll just let it die out from attrition...Just make sure it's running reasonably and leave the room--report immediately to your new assignments."

[/ QUOTE ]

I highly doubt this is the case.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I think you are all missing a very important point here, this is NOT The Sims Online. <blockquote><hr>



I am not sure you have all your facts right.

<blockquote><hr>

The Sims Online was slated for deletion last year because it was old and the majority of players had lost the will to play it. It was no longer generating enough income to justify its existance. The plain fact is we should have been receiving 90 day closure notice in March 2007, with the game finally closing down in June 2007. <blockquote><hr>



According to a post somewhere, EA hired a team of dev to start updating this game more then a year and half. I don't think they had plans to close the game or they would not of hired the devs. I think (my guess) the only thing slated to be closed is the name "Simsonline". I wish they would tell us why, and if they alread have, please tell us again for those that missed it.

<blockquote><hr>

The dev team have taken what was an ailing out of date game, and put new life into it. BUT they couldnt do that without making drastic changes to it. You may be right that they have rushed changes in , but how else are they gonna test them? It has to go into the game, with the players, to work it out. <blockquote><hr>



This game was ailing yes because we lacked any updates. Come on we had not gotten any updates since 2003. All the blame on a ailing game falls on EA.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

They have to do something. I logged into another online game (It's a cute expression of excitement... lol) and had a blast. I have been missing fun in EAL since they merged. Having money made it possible for us to enjoy the game and not worry "How and I going to feed my guests?" Tips always help, but most people don't do this. Visitor bonus was basically how the houses got paid for keeping their house open. I think keeping a house open is a job. It may be the most fun job there is and the least rewarding one, but at least the visitor bonus helped with some of the expenses.

[/ QUOTE ]

I so agree.

I see no point in keeping a house open and thank the people that do.

I think taking away the visitor bonus was two things, one another way to keep us poor and shopping at the atm for ebucks and two a lazy way to take care of people running 20 bots to keep their house open and making money that way.

It seems to me very easy to hit the top 20 houses to see if there are any 3rd party programs being run to keep sims on line.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

The thing is tho, Sims Oline has always been a game that has been focussed on skilling and making money. The devs want the game to move away from that, and they want and need the players to get involved in all apsects of it, not just those 2 aspects, This is what they mean by 'bot like behavior', just skilling and then making money isnt being involved in all aspects. They are trying to reeducate us to play EALand and not The Sims Online.

[/ QUOTE ]

If this was so, lots would not cost so dang much, building on the over priced lot would not cost so much, pet cages would not cost so much. This game has just became about one thing. Buying ebucks at the ATM. Your so funny, reeducate....

 

[imported_Shirl1211]

<blockquote><hr>

I dont like the cap either, but from Sarah's recent update they are rethinking that. They have taken on board our concerns about it and are looking at it again. A 3k limit with a 500 a week credit is ridiculous, we know it and now the devs know it, but there will no doubt have to be a limit of some sort imposed. I guess they are now very aware that they will lose a lot of players if this very limited cap comes into force.

The thing is tho, Sims Oline has always been a game that has been focussed on skilling and making money. The devs want the game to move away from that, and they want and need the players to get involved in all apsects of it, not just those 2 aspects, This is what they mean by 'bot like behavior', just skilling and then making money isnt being involved in all aspects. They are trying to reeducate us to play EALand and not The Sims Online.

I think its a shame they had to disguise this move as 'anti botting' we all quickly saw through that. The devs need to treat us like the adults most of the players are and give us the truth and some respect. We are not idiots.

[/ QUOTE ]



I understand what your saying but how can they honestly get away from the old way of playing when the only thing new here is the custom content. Skills are the same, all money making objects are the same and we still have the same old jobs. All the things that use to be fun in the game are slowly disappearing. Many loved to pet pull, many loved to craft, and the biggest thing of all that a big majority enjoyed most of all was building. Now it is virtually impossible to do any of these things. Everything is still the same ole-same-ole except for the economy. It just isn't nowhere reasonable to cap the money the way they have and price everything so high that it is completely out of reach for the players. It's no wonder that so many are frustrated with the game now. I don't really care what they name it. It's still basically the same except the money but their solution to that is the ATM's. I don't know about most of you but I can't afford to pay to play and then have to fork out more money to actually be able to do the fun things. I agree 100% with the OP. This game has had so many twist and turns that it's hard to believe that it was planned out before put in to action. This is just my opinion and many disagree but all I can say to them is show me something concrete instead of he said she said. I really do want to see the improvements but how long do we have to wait?

 

[Guest]

It's all starting to feel like everything was spur of the moment or whatever the fancy was. As new things arise it's taken longer to take care of them. I hate to ask but do we really think the devs have everything under control?

 

[ephemeral]

It is now Tuesday, just about a week since we heard ANYTHING from EA. (Coincidentally, the original post in this thread was posted immediately before we last heard from the Developers/EA.) This sustained silence certainly is ominous IMO.

I would be very, very surprised if their silence (especially for Lee and Parizad) is punitive "because they're getting back at us for sniping at them." That would be childish and unprofessional in the extreme.

No, as stated above I am sure it is one of two possibilities. They are either trying to regroup (and regain some perspective, as they should have 2 months ago when the first problems with the re-design started popping up); or they have been called off by EA brass.

I expect an announcement shortly that they have re-thought the "re-design" and are going to approach it in a more prudent, patient manner; or an announcement that EA has deemed that EALand is no longer a viable program and that further investment in the game by the company is simply not a wise business decision...(in which case it will be interesting to see how they shut down the game--do they allow it to die of attrition, making no further changes/improvements, letting it run until the subscription numbers drop to the point where it's easy to kick us, or do they simply give us our pink slips and 30 days notice?)

(edited for clarity)

 

[SammiiBeta]

If they were going to change the game Completely why not leave Tso alone with a few small updates like anniversary gifts etc. Make a second game completely different and then after it was all bug free or well semi bug free because they are never completely bug free then merge the 2.

I understand reviving the game. but how are you reviving it if you dont leave any of the old game intact.

Why make us ride this rollercoaster in our old sim car if the New track isnt finished yet.

Ea Land is a reasonably good concept but it needs a complete plan of action so one thing doesnt step on another. And They should have left TSO alone until EaLand was a bit more stable.

 

[Guest]

hmmm.... IMO the Dev's Have some good ideas in their heads BUT i honestly think they are going at it in a wrong way... i agree with alot of the posts in THIS POST that they are rushing and not fixing what they just put into it...
I myself have been playing a racing game that is still in BETA MODE and has been for i believe 3 years now and probably will be another year or two BUT i honestly think its going to be one of the best ever made and thats because when they do a update they worked on it for awhile and then they let all of us try it and get OUR OPINIONS and if all went well after 2 weeks then they would move on too the next update... for one the DEV's Do not play the game like we all do.... and thats why they ask us for our opinion on the newest update...
And i honestly think its close to the same for This Game BUT i know that they are not asking us for our opinion and they seem too just jump too the next one without asking any of us what we have even thought about the update .....
For you DEV's you need too go too other places that are beta testing open games and see how they go about their stuff and get a few pointers from them... you say your in the top of your league so then i would say you need too show it... and ask for some help...

 

[imported_SimTripps]

I totally agree with all of you. Why fix what wasn't broken in the first place? I think the devs rock - they're brilliant and hard-working. Their hearts are in the right place, but the direction they've taken the game leaves much to be desired and will inevitably cause its demise..

Like I've said before, I think they SHOULD have scrapped the game when they had the chance, and instead got EA on board into developing a Sims 2 Online (S2O), and given us old TSOers a chance at beta testing it as a parting gift...

 

[Guest]

well i think we all agree on that they should have left ea alone till ealand could have everything complete for the transfer. but as we all know they didnt do that... so now here we sit and try and paciently wait for them too fix what they screwed up in the first place..."by not making sure what they changed would work before moving on too the next change.." All beta testers know you need too get the feedback before moving on too the next move...... tell me im wrong i dare ya... lol ...

 

[ephemeral]

<blockquote><hr>

well i think we all agree on that they should have left ea alone till ealand could have everything complete for the transfer. but as we all know they didnt do that... so now here we sit and try and paciently wait for them too fix what they screwed up in the first place..."by not making sure what they changed would work before moving on too the next change.." All beta testers know you need too get the feedback before moving on too the next move...... tell me im wrong i dare ya... lol ...

[/ QUOTE ]

Some of us tried to caution against making drastic and poorly thought out moves. Unfortunately, the loudest voices calling for change were the (only) ones heard--most of them from these very boards...

 

[Guest]

well one can only hope for the best now right...

 

[SammiiBeta]

I think if they would have added smaller updates and even amnesty first. And in the mean time maybe gave us the option of another Character to play in EALand to beta test it.

That would have kept the games seperate until they new it worked
and they could have tested their ideas without all the turmoil. Long time players didnt get an option on rather they wanted to beta test again or not.

I dont mind the beta test I just dont like the risking a character I've worked 5 years building on a test that might not work. I'm thinking of closing my accounts after all this time. I would have rather kept my tso in tact until they had a solid foundation to put my lot on.

I would love for Ealand to be all it can be and would even be willing to call my Sim an Avatar if it could just be fun again like it was when she was a Sim.

I seem to think of the Sim as her Youth and the Avatar as her old lady mode lol.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>



I dont mind the beta test I just don't like the risking a character I've worked 5 years building on a test that might not work. I'm thinking of closing my accounts after all this time. I would have rather kept my tso in tact until they had a solid foundation to put my lot on.



[/ QUOTE ]
You are not the first to express a similar sentiment....but seriously, does no one see the contradiction?

Players don't want to 'risk' an old sim, but they are thinking of deleting them?

That is just plain crazy talk.

It was these type of mixed messages that ended up costing us 8 months in development time for the basic game to get everyone merged, and I personally suspect the merge is responsible for the majority of the set backs and problems, we are having now.

If the Devs are "off track", it is most likely from trying to reconcile the player's crazy, conflicting demands, instead of focusing on 'developing' the game according to their own expert and professional knowledge.

After all....no one griping here, has worked professionally, on any award winning games.

 

[Guest]

TTL

I, for one, am damn happy to have my old sims and properties to play with in EA Land today, beta or not.

I do wish they had done many other things differently, like adding something fun to the game, rather than worrying about adding things like ATM's and taking away the catalog and making for this total poor economy, capping what people can earn rather than giving out the gifts and locks the amnesty has promised. Sitting on the 4 and 5 year gifts for this many months after having them supposedly ready for distribution hasn't helped player morale at all.

I do not understand why they decided to give people until the end of April to come back to the game, if they aren't back yet, they aren't coming back, and many who have come back are logging in less and less because it's boring. They have very few locks to work with, and there is very little money to be earned. It's not much of an incentive to log in.

The only things I think they did right in this whole mess was save our old sims and stuff. Disagree all you want, but I feel you should delete your old sims before you do so.

 

[ephemeral]

<blockquote><hr>

After all....no one griping here, has worked professionally, on any award winning games.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, perhaps not, but many of us have worked in the IT arena and frankly the methodology that EA has used to roll out the new game, the "refurbishments" and conversion to EA-Land is absolutely inexcusable. The lack of preparation before any game modifications were made (failure to set up a centralized bug reporting system, information dissemination, fallback plans, etc.) indicates either supreme arrogance or ignorance. Their failure to immediately address and correct serious problems as they came up (and continuing to introduce new features and other modifications to the program) is ridiculous. To begin with, their information gathering prior determining the best changes to make and their planning of the modifications was inadequate. Because of that, they have put themselves in the position of having to rethink each strategy as it becomes apparent that each initial modification doesn't work either practically or strategically.

I sincerely hope that this hiatus (the developers have taken) was to step back and review their mindset and methods. I hope they are using the time to work on catching up with cleaning up the many issues that have arisen with the game since the "conversion" to EA-Land.

Again, I'm not faulting the effort or the sincerity of the developers. I am certain that they got into this mess with the best of intentions. I do fault EA (and probably the specific Project Manager) for not going about this entire undertaking in a more professional and intelligent manner. Alas, I have a very bad feeling that this ineptitude may actually contribute to the ultimate demise of the game (rather than extend its life).

 

[Guest]

I think that the difference here with this game as opposed to other games is that the DEVS are trying to revive and re-invent a game that was already considered a failure by the bigwigs at EA.
The fact that we're all paying to play a Beta is proof of this. Most Betas are free and not open to the general public.

I think a lot of the things the DEVS do has been in haste to try and keep the project up and running and moving foward. They really haven't been given the luxury of a planning phase, huge staff, or funding I'm sure. I think a lot of us forget that the DEVS have us pancakes on one side and EA execs pancakes (most likely) on the other. The plug could be pulled on this game any day for all we know.
As I get frustrated by things like slow CC approvals, lag, game being down for a day or two - I try to remember that this is the state of things here in EA-Land.

 

[imported_Gracie Nito]

Lest we not forget the "demise" was already upon us at this time last year. I appreciate all the efforts that have gotten us thus far. Releasing a new product without market testing is unheard of in this day and age. Yes, we are the market being tested. You have a choice to participate or not. I have no problem lending my help, subscription fees, feedback and input during this upgrade period. When I think back to the staleness of last year to all of the improvements that have been made this year it is astounding.

So many of the problems of the past have been dealt with already and I am quite aware that many of these issues that have been corrected came directly from player input.

I still look forward to any and all changes coming our way. Getting to a final destination has never been a goal of mine when I registered to play. It is the journey, itself, that has made it all worthwhile.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I do wish they had done many other things differently, like adding something fun to the game, rather than worrying about adding things like ATM's and taking away the catalog and making for this total poor economy, capping what people can earn rather than giving out the gifts and locks the amnesty has promised. Sitting on the 4 and 5 year gifts for this many months after having them supposedly ready for distribution hasn't helped player morale at all.


[/ QUOTE ]

YES YES I agree. But I am sitting around wondering if I should bring back some old accounts. I mean really am I having that much fun? I am still playing Sims2 half of the time that i am logged on to EA-Land just to keep myself awake.

 

[Guest]

if they aren't back yet, they aren't coming back

Maybe they are waiting till EAL gets out of beta. Surely no one agrees that EAL is ready for prime time. Do you want a potential subscriber to return to EAL with a free account to see what is going on?

 

[imported_Dali Dalinza]

<blockquote><hr>

When I think back to the staleness of last year to all of the improvements that have been made this year it is astounding.



[/ QUOTE ]

I am guessing you are not being sarcastic, so pray tell: what improvements do you consider "astounding?" In fact, what "improvements?"

Compared to this time last year, the game is about as much fun as cramps. The "staleness" of last year would be an improvement, IMO.

 

[TomCullen1]

<blockquote><hr>

After all....no one griping here, has worked professionally, on any award winning games.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gripe Gripe Gripe!!

There, now you have someone.

 

[Guest]

Links or it didn't happen.....

 

[imported_Gracie Nito]

At this time last year....

All stores were shut down and nobody was selling anything due to exploit.
All players were isolated in their little homes trying to blow their millions pet pulling hour after hour.
No one was playing a game at all. Those with exess cash were just giving it away to anyone that would take it. New players didn't need to subscribe to or play the game at all. They would come in for two weeks, gather up all the free money, play in the sandbox for 14 days and leave.
Free trial abuse had run rampid for years. There had been no new content in the game for years. Scammers were having a field day with bogus property sales. There were people posing as simolean sellers taking peoples real life cash for simoleans and never delivering on the promises.

Were you not here?

There was no game left to play.

Besides all of the above problems that have been addressed and improved upon....

I actually have people to play the game with again. There are people skilling and making money all the time. I have google gadgets on my igoogle page that alerts me to when any of my friends are online and I can pop in to see them and play. There are so many choices in content now that it is hard to decide what to buy or how to decorate.

 

[legscroft]

<blockquote><hr>


The lack of preparation before any game modifications were made (failure to set up a centralized bug reporting system, information dissemination, fallback plans, etc.) indicates either supreme arrogance or ignorance.


[/ QUOTE ]I think their lack of communication as of late also indicates either supreme arrogance or ignorance. If they expect anyone to stick around, even just a little communication would go a long way. If they're punishing us or moody (as has been suggested by others), that's just ignorance and unprofessional. If they're just really unable to give out any real answers, simply stating that would ease alot of minds I think. I was happy to see that Parizad at least posted there wouldn't be an update in TC3 today, I appreciate any informative information.

 

[imported_Dali Dalinza]

<blockquote><hr>

At this time last year....

All stores were shut down and nobody was selling anything due to exploit.
All players were isolated in their little homes trying to blow their millions pet pulling hour after hour.
No one was playing a game at all. Those with exess cash were just giving it away to anyone that would take it. New players didn't need to subscribe to or play the game at all. They would come in for two weeks, gather up all the free money, play in the sandbox for 14 days and leave.
Free trial abuse had run rampid for years. There had been no new content in the game for years. Scammers were having a field day with bogus property sales. There were people posing as simolean sellers taking peoples real life cash for simoleans and never delivering on the promises.

Were you not here?

There was no game left to play.

Besides all of the above problems that have been addressed and improved upon....

I actually have people to play the game with again. There are people skilling and making money all the time. I have google gadgets on my igoogle page that alerts me to when any of my friends are online and I can pop in to see them and play. There are so many choices in content now that it is hard to decide what to buy or how to decorate.

[/ QUOTE ]

Therein lies the difference. For all the put-downs you make about how in the olden days players had too much money to have fun, it seems from what you say you are now one of the few in the "improved" game who has money enough to have fun. Buy or decorate? Not for me! I cannot afford to buy or decorate.

I think as always the "haves" are blinded to the plight of the "have nots." For those of us who do not own stores and/or produce custom content, the ways to earn money in game have withered. I have been putting in almost all of my available game time working, and I have nothing worthwhile to show for it. I ask myself -- is this the new, improved game? Where my entire game life is to be dedicated to pursuing never enough simoleans?? Well, of course, I could give in and hit the ATM. Pfffft.

 

[legscroft]

<blockquote><hr>


I do not understand why they decided to give people until the end of April to come back to the game, if they aren't back yet, they aren't coming back, and many who have come back are logging in less and less because it's boring. They have very few locks to work with, and there is very little money to be earned. It's not much of an incentive to log in.


[/ QUOTE ]I don't understand why they invited people back to the game without thinking about what will keep them. Amnesty was very smart, a great enticement to come back. But what will make them stay? Surely not lack of communication. Surely not a CC system that is incredibly flawed. Surely not having an extremely hard time earning money with no new fun means to do so or to do anything else. I know they're trying in a short period of time to revive the game, but having a high # of subscribers for just a month or two surely won't do much good.

 

[Guest]

*to no one in particular*

I find it amusingly ironic that most of the people complaining about being a "have-not", how it is so hard to make any money, are the same people who were the "haves" in the old game, having way more money than they knew what to do with.

I was never particularly rich in the old game. At most, I had maybe 500,000 between all of my sims. I was comfortable. Today, I don't see any particular problem with the economy as it is now. Money comes slowly but steadily. But then again, I never came back into the game with expectation of having my own fully-furnished size-8 lot within a month either.

 

[imported_Gracie Nito]

I make the majority of my money working in robot factory or diner. My custom content uploads have been for the most part experimental or for my own use. I have sold a few things here and there to friends but nothing that would make me rich. I would expect the money that I have made in a store would be less than 50k in the 4 months that ealand has been open.(all of which, I continue to sink into my experimental cc uploads) I had two houses from Betaville come in the merge with multitudes of old and useless objects that no one in their right mind would buy. Not to mention that both of these homes had to be remodeled once they arrived because I no longer needed private bathrooms all over the house for shy sims. I brought my home from Dan's Grove fully furnished with anything I would need and just a piddling amount of items for resale.

I have no problem setting a goal and achieving it. Sure, I would love to be playing pizza for money because I've always enjoyed it. However, I discovered I can make money faster in a job track so I do that to achieve my goals faster. I will have no problem jamming for hours if that becomes the most lucrative and time saving way to make money. However, that is not the case today. Besides the 3 lots that came from the old cities, I have my property I bought in EAland the day it opened and long before merges. Before the merges, I was able to build what I felt to be a very comfortable living.

I'm sorry if my having fun and having the ability to make money has ruined the game for you.

 

[Guest]

It is really a numbers game. The simple fact is, that player's who were 'having fun' in the old game, were a steadily decrease number, far below what would support the game.

The numbers just were not there, and the vast majority of original players had moved on and out of the game....indicating that the game as it existed was *not* providing adequate fun for the majority of the people who tried it.

The new game has hit a plateau.....old players surged back on excitement, and then found it to be a work in progress.
*Will the increase in numbers be enough?
*Will the players leaving be exceeded by the ones joining?
*Will the Development Team be able to pull it all together and deliver a game to meet the high expectations they have raised?

These questions about the future are legitimate and remain to be answered, but the one about the viability of the old game has *been* answered, many, many times. However fond, the few remaining players at the beginning of 2007, were of the old game, it simply did not have what it took to survive. That is the bottom line.

The game has been focused on three main objectives for the last year.
*Rebuild the foundation of the game to support the *structure* of a new game.
*Bring as much of the old player's and their stuff, as is feasible, into the new game structure.
*Make Custom Content available to players.

This has happened....not without complications, along the way, but the game has basically met those goals. There some problems to be worked out, but the way ahead is in much more likely to see fun things introduced, than the past year was.
If we can meet the numbers and survive that long, I expect that by this time next year the game will be awesome...and unrecognizable.

But not if we keep trying to pull the game off course and back into the past.

 

[imported_Dali Dalinza]

<blockquote><hr>



I'm sorry if my having fun and having the ability to make money has ruined the game for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your having fun and the ability to make money does not have any effect on my game. You choose to be blind to the myriad reasons others do not share your fanboy attitudes -- and that may in the long run ruin the game for all of us.

None of us can achieve, change or improve that which we do not see. That the game is a wonderland for Gracie is not going to be enough.

And Katheryne -- if you considered that I might have been one of those fabulously rich sims who now complains about how hard it is to make money -- well, I could fill the rest of the page with derisive HAHAHAHAHA's. Not even close. Like you, I was comfortable. And that is all I ever wanted to be -- comfortable. I was never focussed on the pursuit of money, until now. And I am finding that to be really no fun at all.

They seem to be creating a game that will be most aptly named "Rat Race." I don't know how well that will play in the long run. Choosing between the pursuit of meagre amounts of cash, versus spending all ones time chatting, is just not the sort of innovation many of us were expecting.

 

[imported_CherryBomb]

Most of the posts I read about the developers can be summed up as either "The devs are perfect", or "The devs are stupid." Neither is so, folks. OK, I will try to clap more when they pull off something sweet, but I will continue to drill them when they make a glaring error.

CherryBomb

 

[jammybob]

<blockquote><hr>

The numbers just were not there, and the vast majority of original players had moved on and out of the game....indicating that the game as it existed was *not* providing adequate fun for the majority of the people who tried it.

These questions about the future are legitimate and remain to be answered, but the one about the viability of the old game has *been* answered, many, many times. However fond, the few remaining players at the beginning of 2007, were of the old game, it simply did not have what it took to survive. That is the bottom line.



[/ QUOTE ]

I think that is a matter of opinion. The viability of the old game was not there mainly because people left in droves when the money bug wasnt fixed. Prior to that coming into play, i believe there were enough players to sustain it and all it really needed was a few updates to keep us happy