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There have been alot of things added we can't even see. Their ability to detect exploits is just one of many. They have created better tools for tracking the money in the economy. Introduced the use of ATM for more secure purchases of whateverbucks. Secured deed trades for house sales. The game is changing. The introduction of more sims per subscriber account and having all of those sims in one city has changed the game mechanics if you choose to use it. I know I'm not playing the same game I played last year.
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Quite right!
Umm.... how many new players do you reckon the ATM, Secure deed, exploit management, money tracking, etc. have brought in?
just askin'.
Ok - sorry for the sarcasm - but the frustration level is running very high.
Personally, I think all the secure features, all the background stuff, all the prep work for future additions, is great - I'm glad they're looking ahead.
But, all these things are intangibles - there has been very little to add to the fun aspect of the average player's game experience.... and a great deal taken away.
I like this game, too - and I don't want to see it fail. But, it is impossible to see this game succeed in it's present form, and the devs will not talk about when/if things will get better.
It is simply unreasonable to expect people to continue subscribing to a game which they feel is a waste of time and money.
I'm not advocating anybody leave the game, I'm just asking for the devs to turn on the lights and look around.
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Donovan, I completely get what you are saying. But to touch off on a few things...
I understand the need to fix the things we don't see, to update all the coding and graphics. When did the original sims come out? Because thats pretty much the coding we are running off of. Or were. Over 10 years old. that needs to be fixed, and updated. It'd be moot to build upon that and stay in the dark ages of gaming. It is frustrating to us to not see this... but I am one of the few who do plan on playing this game in the future. I am selfish. I want to be as cool as possible. Direct x and the whole 9
In the bad days. (I think during your hiatus) The days where we had no team. Where Parizad had nothing to tell us. Where it was bleak and hopeless and there about 8 new posts a day in city hall referring to botters, the exploit and the terrible economy...Nobody thought we'd ever see an update again. Stratics started locking down the suggestion forums.
Even before that during the many "custom content never coming to TSO" threads, people would talk about how they would wait as long as it took. Just to have it.
Then Luc came in with his talk of economy, and we went from 8 posts a day here, to hundreds. People came back (like yourself and so many others I see) and there is an actual community again. There are updates to report.
Bottom line is I am willing to wait. I'm willing to be patient. Nobody is forcing me and i can understand the frustrated players.
But its all out there on the table?
In the dev chats on MIRC, and the blog they have always given a timeline for this stuff... and it's always pretty out there.
I don't see any cards up their sleeves. I think that they are serious about making this game a success. Going from a staff of 1 1/2 to a staff of 19 in six months... is pretty serious to me.
I don't want to say hang in there, or any of that cliche mumbo jumbo. but we all do have a choice to be here. And the potential fun... to me is unlimited. Sometimes when I read these updates, or the things that are set to happen, I feel like I'm back in the beginning when I couldn't wait for stores to open up and all that stuff.
Sorry If I dont' make any sense, I'm at work and was interrupted a total of 27 times (I counted) in the typing of this post.
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Sure, you're making sense - I have no problem with all that.
But, look at it this way - people (like me, and others) left the game for a reason - stagnation. We came back because of the promises to 'freshen-up' the game. Now, we are experiencing a different kind of stagnation, and even a very real backwards step. It wouldn't take much to cause another exodus.
As important as the changes you outlined are; there are are other changes that are just as important - for one, an infusion of 'fun' items/activities to replace those that were taken out.
A very real statistic of the game is that the majority of players do not have the same patience and loyalty as most of the long-term players. So, while there may be hundreds of old school players who have the patience of Job and are willing to wait and trust in the devs - there are
thousands of 'ordinary' players (who make up the majority) who are only interested in playing something enjoyable.
If we lose them - we lose the game.
They'll just up and move along without a backward glance - I've done it and I'd bet many of our long time players have too.
So, while there are plans to cover the "infrastructure", I don't remember reading about his plans to offset the current dissatisfaction.
And, frankly - that worries me.