It's the little details that make the difference

The Sims 4's ongoing support from both its fans and developers speaks to the behemoth of the simulation genre that it is. Just when we thought the game offered anything players could possibly dream of, they turn around and offer even more possibilities -- which is exactly what Maxis is doing with the release of two mini-DLCs, also known as kits. The Simtimates Collection Kit and the Bathroom Clutter Kit are re??leasing on January 19 for PC and Mac, as well as Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

The former includes upgrades to the usual set of pajamas that Sims wear, and the collection "will help any Sim look bold, flirty, & charming in the bedroom with lacey bodysuits, a variety of underwear styles & playful boxer prints." Now your Sim can lounge around in style, and of course, the new looks can invite some more spice into your game if you're into?????????????????????????? that kind of thing.

//twitter.com/TheSims/status/1615380171607126016

The Bathroom Clutter Kit takes a turn into the messy -- this kit allows players to customize their clutter, and scatter various knick-knacks around their bathrooms. The items range from Grandma's dentures to makeup palettes, so you'll be able to create a lived-in space for anybody in your Sims household.

Both of these kits were teased in the "It's All Relative" Roadmap for The Sims 4 posted on January 12, 2023, which also announced that the game will receive "one big update" and an expansion pack on top of the two new kits. In addition, there will also be more support for extended family systems in the game, which will also tie back into the big expansion that's coming this year, according to the Roadmap post. Looks like this is only the beginning of the exciting things the Maxis team has in store, and considering The Sims 4 is now free-to-play, ??????????????????????????it's an excellent time to jump in and join?? the fun.

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Players will be able to go solo or collaborate

Electronic Arts and Maxis are working on the next generation of The Sims. Currently dubbed "Project Rene", the next entry in The Sims franchise is confirmed to be in early d?evelopment.

As shown during today's Behind The Sims Summit stream, Maxis is currently in "very early" stages of creating the next Sims game. The project title, Rene, was chosen to represent the team's "renewed commitment" for a bright Sims future.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmm6h6bHD3o

We see some experimentation the team has been working on with its creative tools, for buildi??ng and decorating specifically. Th??ere's the ability to change patterns, colors, and shapes as players decorate and build in-game.

Collaboration seems to be a big focal point for this new Sims. Players will be able to play solo or collaborat?e with each other??, and will be able to play across supported supported devices.

No more information was given, as it sounds like Project Rene is still a ways out. Maxis says it will cont?inue to share more information on development as it goes along.

A new world of Sims

As for currently available Sims products, today marks the launch of The Sims 4 base game as a free-to-play title. Players can now jump in on PC, Ma??c, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBBm7tWs_U

More is in store, too. Maxis says it's still adding new content, in the forms of packs, kits, free updates, and Sims Delivery Express drops, for the forseeable future. Some early expansion content was also teased in today's stre??am, and the team confirms that infants will be arriving in ear??????????????????????????ly 2023.

The Sims is also partnering with Overwolf for an official mod destination in CurseForge. Modders will not be required to move over to or use CurseForge, but it's meant to provide a "supplementary experience" ?to existing av?enues for modding. It also provides a moderated mod platform.

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Sims fans rejoice

The Sims is one of the most prolific series in gaming, and has managed to stay at the forefront of the games space for over twenty years. The Sims community is especially known for their mods, with the most recent entry Sims 4 being incredibly robust in that regard. Now, as a thank you to fans for making the game the success that it is, EA has announced that the base game of The Sims 4 will be free to down??load? on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One starting on October 18, 2022.

"EA and Maxis have welcomed millions of The Sims players over the years, and have watched in awe as they unleashed their imaginations, discovered and connected with ideas, experiences, and versions of themselves, both in-game and real life," EA said in a press release. "With The Sims 4 base game going free, th??e team is more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful exper??iences for players, and will continue to develop and release packs, Kits, and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFkqTSU9tSo

As if that's not good enough, players who have already purchased The Sims 4 by October 17 will get the Desert Luxe Kit as a free gift. EA Play and EA Play Pro members will also get a special treat on October 18 �with The Sims 4 EA Play Edition, players will get The Sims 4 Get To Work Expansion Pack, and the EA Play Pro Edition come with both The Sims 4 Get To Work Expansion Pack and The Sims 4 Toddler Stuff Pack.

In addition, EA will be hosting a special-edition stream on October 18 at 10 am PDT on The Sims' YouTube and Twitch channels called the "Behind The Sims Summit," which will ??give players an inside look into what the team has in the works. EA really pulled out all the stops for this one, because this ??has to be one of the coolest events I've seen in gaming in a while.

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The Sims started gaywalking long before a lot of others

In terms of inclusivity, EA isn’t the worst, I guess. I have my doubts that a corporation has any interest in what’s between my legs and who I invite ?to the bedroom beyond how they can profit from it, but baby steps here. They try. Maybe.

However, long before Mass Effect let you be gay if you were a girl, and Mass Effect 3 still said you couldn’t flirt with Garrus if you were a dude, The Sims were just letting same-sex couples exist. In 2000, no less. So, let’s have a golf clap for EA and Maxis. Oh, wait. It was done by mistake? Okay, let’s slow down here.

Video games haven't been the quickest at acknowledging people of the LGBTQ+ persuasion. It’s a bit hard to track the early history of it, but the first known game with an LGBTQ+ basis is Caper in the Castro from 1989. After that, things get a bit spotty with some same-sex possibilities in Great Greed (1992), Fallout 2 (1998), and Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999).

These days, it’s become more common to have a game with gay content, but that's mostly in the indie sphere. It’s still somewhat rare in mainstream titles. To be fair, however, romance in general doesn’t seem to get much representation since most significant others are just there to die in the first chapter and give the protagonist a reason to become a killing machine in the name of justice. When same-sex romance does pop up, it can often feel like there’s this gated off area for people with different sexual preferences. It’s like, “here’s your token gay character. Please deliver us praise.�/p>

The Sims was different. Dudes could kiss dudes, ladies could kiss ladies, dudes could kiss dudes and later kiss ladies (as long as the first dude wasn’t in sight). Same-sex romance has just been a thing with The Sims. It’s part of its DNA.

But it almost didn’t happen. The Sims, in general, was something of a surprise hit. The developers at Maxis plugged away at it, feeling that the executives had absolutely no faith in the final product. Therefore, EA’s executives were cagey about adding same-sex romance ?at all, thinking it wasn’t the right game to make such a controversial statement. It was in Maxis' vision for their social system, but the executives asked for same-sex romance to be scrapped. Maxis was will??ing to acquiesce.

Luckily, no one told that to Patrick J. Barrett III, who was handed an outdated design document and went to work writing the code for social interactions while his boss was on vacation. Upon seeing his progress, Will Wright praised the social intera?ctions and the inclusion of same-sex romance, so no one on the Maxis team questioned its inclusion.

Then E3 rolled around, and during a scripted demo, two female sims went off script and started making out, which brought a lot of unintentional attention to the game. Everyone on the team still expected EA to ask for that feature to be canned, but they never did. They just sort of backed off and put their faith in Maxis. Barrett even went back into the code to alter the social interactions so sims would lean straight, gay, or even bisexual if that’s what you preferred. Your Sim could have whatever sexuality you wanted, The Sims doesn’t judge.

Sorry, that’s not exactly true. You could have monogamous romance between two gay?? sims, but they could ?never marry. If they lived together, they’d just be defined as “roommates,�which is kind of funny, because that’s exactly what you’d tell your parents if you were still in the closet and wanted to live with your partner. Again, to be fair to Maxis and EA, same-sex marriage was still illegal in most countries, so it wasn’t too divergent from the reality at the time. You could still adopt children, so it wasn't entirely discriminatory.

The point is, however, that same-sex romance did land in The Sims. There was no getting that golden egg back into the goose; EA had to live with the fact that its breakout hit had a case of the gays. The Sims exploded in popularity, probably not due to its inclusivity, but definitely because it was addicting and let you electrocute children. Same-sex romance was stitched into the fabric of their 10-million selling mega-hit, and what were the?y goin??g to do now? As most doctors will tell you, you can't surgically remove the gay.

Surprisingly, despite its popularity, there wasn’t much backlash. I scoured the internet for some perturbed lawyer or religious group decrying the corruption of their youth, bu?t I came up with bupkis. Just some stuff about recent titles being banned in certain backwards countries. There’s a chance that some people didn’t even notice. If they were afraid they'd get aroused by seeing two guys kissing, they didn't have to see it.

Instead of trying to backtrack, the developers ended up doubling down. Same-sex romance returned in The Sims 2, but now you could actually tie the knot. Sort of. It was called a "joined union" rather than a marriage, but the diffe??rence was just in the nomenclature. You could still adopt kids and they could also be gay. Or not. Your Sims would be proud of them however they turned out.

And this continued throughout the series, especially as it became more sex positive. “Woohoo,�The Sims nomenclature for sexual intercourse, began as something that you could only do in the appropriate bed, but from where we are in The Sims 4, you can get dirty in a bush ??or a changing stall for all it cares. New ways to lock thighs are added with practically every expansion pack, and it never cares about logistics. Or they'd be fed to the cow plant, you're calling the shots here.

Not only that, but The Sims 4 added the ability to set, regardless of gender, whether your sim pees standing up or sitting down, if they could become pregnant or get other sims pregnant, and whether their body type and clothing preference leaned feminine or masculine. Sims could be transgender, which means they could also be pansexual.

It's unfortunate that this sort of thing should even be commended. When you’re playing with your virtual dolls, the game shouldn’t be judging you for who you bump their pelvis against. For that matter, I’ll go as far as saying the sexual preference of every romance option in every game, no matter the genre, should be completely up to the player, regardless of what your avatar has between their legs. Why the hell not? If you’re straight, you can just continue being straight, but those who prefer otherwise aren’t getting roped off. Why d?o gay men get thrown boring human du jour? Let them make out with Garrus if they want to.

However, it’s worthwhile mentioning that Maxis and EA have a rather unique place in the tapestry of LGBTQ+ games. The Sims was an incredibly early example of an inclusive game, and it helps demonstrate how far we've come. A cynic would say that they’re only appealing to that market for their money. That's likely at least partially true. However, given how it started, when it started, and how it continues today, it feels less like checking the gay box and more like staying true to a sm?all facet of the series�design.

Again, EA shouldn’t be commended for not stomping out a perfectly wholesome facet of?? their dollhouse game. It shouldn’t have been an issue to begin with. But, props where they’re due, I guess.

The post A history of The Sims’ rampant bisexuality appeared first on Destructoid.

I pissed into a burning ring of fire

If your bodily excretory functions are a sin, The Sims 4 opened up a fiery portal to hell.

The Sims 4 has a fun new bug where sims piss and the toilet is ablaze. This underworld urinary tract inferno came courtesy of the new update ahead of today's Eco Lifestyle expansion pack. As Rock Paper Shotgun notes, The Sims is especially prone to weird update-related bugs because of all the mods players generally have ??installed. It's basically impossible to QA test for a bajillion diffe?rent third-party mods.

Sims have a good piss stance -- nice back arch as if to groan "Ahhh, that piss really hits the spot!" It'd be slightly more realistic if they had a drunken bar lean, one hand on the wall while they read about DUI lawyers. But, I suppose that's how you singe your pubes in Sims 4.

The Sim?s 4 update has a bug that makes sims pee fire [Rock Paper Shotgun]

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'If you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget'

The Sims 4 has been building up to something strange as of late, and that strangeness has culminated in StrangerVille, an u??pcoming game pack centered around an "odd desert town." There's? loose talk of unusual weather, government agents, a secret lab, and grinning townies creepin' up the place.

If it feels like history is repeating itself, you aren't wrong. The Sims 2 had an aptly-named Strangetown. I strongly believe Weird Sims is the Best Sims, whether it's official stories or player-made challenges.

"You could get to know locals (and secrets) at the watering hole," hint the developers. "Even visit the library to meet scientists who may or may not know important information. But, your Sim can't be in two places at once. So, you may ?? have to rely on some 'equipment' to gather more information."

If you're stuck on where to go next or what to do in StrangerVille, the internet has yo?ur back.

As someone who hasn't spent much time with The Sims in recent years but still regularly thinks about it, StrangerVille sounds enticing. In a crowd of ??perfectly adequate game packs, this concept stands out. And you just know people are going to use these out-of-left-field new playthings to?? their full extent.

The Sims 4: StrangerVille will be available on PC via Ori??gin for $19.99 starting February 26, 201?9.

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YOU CAN'T CUT BACK ON FUNDING! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!

I've always held a fascination with city planning and architecture. My mom still has the drawings of imaginary cities I would make on the back of paper placemats in restaurants and for a brief moment when I was a kid, I wanted to become an architect. I ultimately chose a more chaotic field of study but part of me still loves the order and planning of building a city. I get my city planning jollies by reading the work of Darran Anderson and playing games like Cities: Skyline and Project Highrise.

But what happens when an actual city planner plays the classic SimCity 2000? This past week, Dave Amos, a former city planner and current City Planning Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley uploaded a run of him starting a city from scratch. Using his experience and education, he designed a city that adhered to real-world conventions while also gaming the system to take advantage of the limitation of the 25-year-old game. For example, I never knew that if you placed your power plants at the edge of your map, most of the pollution went out of your city grid?? and therefore didn't count against you.

Peppered throughout the video are little observation?s about the things Maxis got right about city planning and some areas where they had to bend reality to make a better game. At one point though Amos flexes his god-like powers and demolishes the oldest city block in town in fa??vor of new more expensive residential buildings. Eminent domain ho!

I don't know if I'm the only one but I love these types of videos and art??icles where real-world experts play and critique games that replicate their professions. While it isn't always the case, game designers get it right more times than you would think.

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RUFF!

EA and Maxis have announced that the Cats and Dogs expansion for The Sims 4 will be heading to PS4 and Xbox One on July 31, 2018. The pack brings a whole heap of different cat and dog breeds to add a furry companion to your Sims' life. It is currently available for pre-order at $39.99 on the PlayStation Store and is stated to require all previous updates from the main Sims 4 t??o work. At least you'll get a free PS4 theme to make the decision easier...

The Sims [Twitter]

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SOON SOON!

Not content to simply port Final Fantasy XV to PC, Square Enix has announced that yet another wacky crossover is coming to the belated port when it releases next month. Users who buy the game from EA's Origin service before May 1 will be given a Sims 4 costume pack that features a Llam?a suit and Pumbob outfit. I have no idea what those are, but I really can't get?? over the floating crystal. This is just too good.

These costumes will be available in the multiplayer component as well as an option for Noctis in single-player. If you happen to own The Sims 4, you'll? al??so receive a special crown prince outfit for Noctis to celebrate the launch of the game. That isn't all, though, as a Regalia decal pack will also be available for grabs.

Here is a quick trailer showing off some of th??e new digs.

While nothing is going to top the Half-Life crossover, this Sims 4 pack is pretty awesome. I love that Square Enix is going all in to make this version of Final Fantasy XV the definitive port, especially for someo??ne like me that skipped out on buying the console release.

Now if only these ??pre-order bonuses weren't digital retai??ler exclusive...

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition Origin purchases include The Sims 4 costumes [Gematsu]

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That isn't an innuendo

It astounds me how each new Sims game releases missing practically all of the features from the previous installment's expansion packs. Sure, there may be some fundamental changes to the structure of the game (Sims 2 introduced aging and 3 removed loading screens), but you would think simple things like animal companions and swimming pools would be present in every entry past the first game. Somehow, The Sims 4 launched without both in 2014 and while pools were ?eventually added in a free update, furry friends will finally be coming in a paid expansion after thr??????????????????????????ee years.

Dubbed The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs, this new expansion will allow players to adopt a cat or a dog to bring into their families. In classic EA/Maxis fashion, the addition of horses and birds from The Sims 3: Pets will not be present. You can join the veterinarian career path, though, and end up treating other Sims' sick animals. There is also a new coastal harbor map called "Bridleton Bay" where Sims can walk their dogs and play fetch near the w??ater.

Full animal customization will be coming, which does sound neat. You can create your perfect pet with a selection of various breeds and even change the color of their coats to concoct from truly screwed up designs. If y?ou've always wanted to humiliate a dog, you can even buy it an outfit to wear and then pretend its like a human.

If this all sounds good to you, then you're likely wondering when this expansion will be hitting store shelves. November 10th, dear readers, for both PC and Mac. I wonder if the recently announced console ports of The Sims 4 will ever see this feature or if we'll just end up with a separate version like last time.

The Sims 4 Cats & D??ogs is Coming this November! [The Sims]

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Better late than never

The Sims' neighborhood seems set to grow a bit this fall. It seems as if the most recent Sims game is going to break free of its PC-only status and e?xpand to Xbox One.

This news comes via a product listing for The Sims 4 on Microsoft's store page (screenshot included in the gallery below in case the listing is pulled). The release date is listed as November 16, 2017. If true, this would be a fairly late adaption as The Sims 4 originally launched in September 2014.

As of right now, this development is confined solely to the early page on Microsoft's store. The link in the description leads to a 404 error, and The Sims' blog's most recent news is about an expansion.

We've reached out to both EA and Microsoft about the possibility of The Sims 4 coming to Xbox One. Predictably, Microsoft had nothing to offer other than pointing us EA's way. EA didn't respond by the time of writing. This article will be update????d if/when we hear back.

The Sims 4 [Microsoft Store]

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A seamless improvement on the original

After a somewhat tepid launch three years ago, every game pack, update, and expansion released for The Sims 4 has had to find some way to make the barren base game feel as expansive as the many, many Sims games that came before.

The Sims 4: Parenthood is the latest attempt to fill the content void, and while the longtime Sims fan in me wants to call it and all other non-expansion DLC a cash grab, at just $20 Parenthood feels more worth its price than most of the full-blown, $40 expansion packs rele?as??ed so far.

The Sims 4: Parenthood (PC)
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: May 30, 2017
MSRP: $19.99

The Sims 4: Parenthood takes on the monumental task of making the life of a stay-at-home parent as interesting as pursuing a career or working towards fulfilling an aspiration. This isn't the first time in the franchise's seventeen years that Maxis has attempted to flesh out the core Sims mechanic of popping out and raising lil' Sim children, but thankfully Parenthood doesn’t feel li??ke a rehash of a past expansion pack.

This time around, the game has introduced a 'parenthood' skill that parents can build by teaching, disciplining, and praising their sim spawn. A?s with other skills like cooking or logic, a new level of that skill offers a sim new activities and interactions. This could be anything from a new way to correct a misbehaving child or more details on how each particular parenting decision will affect a kid's demeanor.

Those teachable, parenting moments all feed into the new 'character values' menu toddlers, children, and teens have stashed in their ??traits menu ??that shows how behavior is being reflected in their personalities and actions. Depending on the reactions parents have to certain behaviors, kids either gain or lose behavioral points in manners, responsibility, conflict resolution, empathy, and emotional contr??ol. The more you praise or scold to reinforce a behavior, the more like??ly a kid is to behave accordingly in the future.

A child's traits will influence the kind of good or bad behaviors they're likely to build too; a mean sim will tank its empathy, while a neat sim is likely to see its responsibility skyrocket. Even that has a way of helping? to make each sim kid feel more?? unique since a higher or lower character value results in a kid naturally performing more actions that reflect that value. 

And, if any of the five behavior categories are either fully in the red or green, a young sim will walk away with an all new and unique trait reflecting their childhood behaviors once they reach adulthood. Those traits themselves are a nice reward for ??taking the time to raise a sim from birth to maturity as well. It's a neat system th??at successfully manages to add some depth to the previously monotonous child and teenager stages.

Beyond that, Parenthood introduces a number of new items and random encounters that give players additional ways to shape the family dynamic in any given home. Students now sometimes bring home class projects that can be assembled solo or with the help of the parent, and parents c??an set a curfew for the household ?via a family notice board that docks responsibility points for sims that don't obey.

There's a number of new random elements that seek to spice up the lives of each adventure into parenthood. Periodically, parents will receive a call from the school seeking advice on how to solve a conflict involving their child, and how the parent answers will, for better or worse, have a sizable effect on the kid's character values. This same kind of thing happens when a teen or child autonomously asks a parent for advice. Whichever option th?e player picks, one character value will rise and one will fall, though higher levels of the parenting skill let players see those effects in detail ahead of time.

Children and teens now also have a chance to go through phases that noticeably alter their day-to-day activities. For some sims, this means they'll become overemotional for a period of time and blast music at all hours,?? and for others it means they become unbearably sad unless they're wearing a vibrantly colored bear costume.

Of course, there's new content to be found in the building mode and the create-a-sim menus as well, and each piece further builds on those themes of individuality and homemaking set forth by Parenthood's new mechanics. ??The decorative stuff is especially nice in this pack if you're interested in finding ways to make a sim's house look less pristine and more like a c?haotic family home.

The Sims 4: Parenthood packs quite the punch into its $20 package, and at this point I've had more fun with it than I have with the last few full expansion packs released for the game. I'm still of the mind that these kinds of improvements should be included in expansion packs, but The Sims 4: Parenthood is ??making me reconsider my anti-game pack mindset.

While other game packs for The Sims 4 introduced new gameplay elements into the mix, The Sims 4: Parenthood sets out to enhance existing parts of the core Sims experience and does so in a way that meshes surprisingly well with what was already there. If the next few game packs and expansions can manage to do the same, The Sims 4 might be able to ?live up to the standards set by past games in the series.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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And more EA restructuring

Mega-publisher Electronic Arts issued "an organizational update" yesterday announcing the for??mation of EA Worldwide Studios, a "central studios organization led by Patrick Söderlund," who was the head of EA Studios for the past three years (itself an organizational change up).

EA Mobile and Maxis head Samantha Ryan is still running those joints, but ?she, "will also take on leadership of BioWare, where her love for RPGs and experience with open-world ??adventure games is an outstanding fit to work with Aaryn Flynn and his great team." She'll now report to Söderlund.

The Frostbite Engine team has also been rearranged, now working under the Technology operation led by chief technology officer Ken Moss.

Most importantly, the restructuring doesn't appear to have led to any lay??-offs. However, "EA Worldwide Studios will bring together our top creative talent in all of our great studios to work on EA’s powerful brand portfolio and new IP" also screams homogeneity -- more than already exists at EA.  

An Organizational Update [EA]

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After March 1, the game's gone for good

EA is pulling the plug on Maxis’ action-RPG Darkspore.

The news was announced in December (thanks, PC Gamer) but it seems not many? of us noticed… which may be the issue, let’s face it.

“Today, we are announcing that we will be closing the doors on Darkspore, effective March 1st, 2016. It’s been a great run and we hope that you have enjoyed your time with Darkspore,” an EA spokesperson wrote on the Darkspore forum, before pimping out Origin.

“While it can be hard to say goodbye, keep in mind there are tons of awesome games available for free on Origin. Enjoy 48-hours of fun with Game Time titles such as The Sims 4 and Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare or downl??oad the latest Origin On the House release and add it to your library.”

While you may surmise its not too much of a big deal, this does leave those who did ??paid for it and still enjoy it unable to play it from March 1, 20?16.

Are you still playing it, friend? Does it sting to have any publisher pull a game you’ve paid to play forever? Let us k??now what you think in the comments…

The post If you liked Darkspore you have a week ?left to play it appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh, Maxis

It's sad to see how Maxis has changed slowly over time ever since its acquisition by EA in 1997. The company once provided me with hours of entertainment with classics such as SimCity and SimAnt, and it seemed like its success and inventiveness wo?uld n??ever end.

But things were never really the same after the disappointing Spore was released. While The Sims kept Maxis afloat, its Emeryville studio eventually closed, and of course, the latest SimCity was a massive slap in? the face with its litany of DRM-based issues.

As of this week, Lucy B??radshaw -- who has been with the company for 23 years -- is now leaving the company, to be replaced by Rachel Franklin, the head of the "Sims Studio." I'm pouring one out for the Maxis of old, which seems to slowly lose another piece of itself each passing year.

Maxis Organizational Update [EA]

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Windenburg looks like a fantasy MMO

EA has announced a new expansion pack for The Sims 4, the Get Together expansion pack.

The new expansion will bring in a European-style city called Windenburg, and is due to be released in November this year. EA has said it is about &l?dquo;bringing friends together”, but what that means could be literally anything. I'm sure we'll get more inf??ormation as gamescom progresses.

There’s a trailer up top, showing off the very pretty new city.

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First SimCity (2013), now this

Another studio with a storied legacy has fallen under Electronic Arts. The Emeryville offices of Maxis, the force behind simulation games like The Sims, SimCity, and Spore, shut down today.

EA says it's "consolidating Maxis IP development to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki, and Melbourne," and added that "These changes do not impact our plans for The Sims."

According to the company's statement to Kotaku, "All employees impacted by the changes today will be given opportunities to explore other positions within the Maxis studios an?d throughout EA. For those that are leaving the company, we are working to ensure the best possible transition with separation packages and career assistance."

Closing a game studio in the midst of? the G??ame Developers Conference? Not exactly subtle.

EA Shuts Down SimCity Developer Maxis [Kotaku]

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Don't even think about disabling disasters

I never thought I'd have this many games attached to my Origin account, but here we are with yet another On the House offer from Electronic Arts I might a??s well claim. You know, just to have.

SimCity 2000 is free (read: free ?to k??eep, not free to play for a limited time) so get on that.

I t?hink the l?ast time I seriously played this was in, gosh, middle school? It's been a while.

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The game of life

As a growing gamer, Maxis was always one of my go-to developers at a young age. From the original SimCity, to SimAnt, to SimTower, the ?company was almo?st infallible in my eyes, and I ate up practically every simulation it had to offer.

But while Maxis had seen a great deal of success, it wasn't until The Sims that it truly crossed over into the mainstream market and exploded. Before FarmVille, before Wii Sports, there was The Sims, and it snared a lot of the non-gaming ma?rket over the years.

The Sims 4 tries to tap in??to that market yet again, but it d?oesn't really have anything to offer over its predecessor.

The Sims 4 (PC)
Developer: EA Maxis, The Sims Studio
Publisher: EA
Released: September 2, 2014
MSRP: $59.99
Rig: Origin Millennium: Overclocked Intel Core i7 4770K Quad-Core (4.0GHz-4.7GHz), Dual 3GB NVIDIA GTX 780 Ti 

The premise of The Sims 4 is basically the same as it always has been. By way of open-ended gameplay, players can create avatars and mess with their lives. The reason I've enjoyed past installments is because of the non-linear nature of the titles. If there was ever a "sandbox mode" in a Sims g?ame I often played it more than the regular campaig?n.

Character creation is m??uch simpler this time around, which is mostly a good thing for newcomers. Progression is even easier to figure out, as each ava??tar can have an "aspiration," such as an eSport career. What I like about this system is that it's clear what your goals are and how to obtain them, making that "ding" feeling much more satisfying since there's no cryptic decoding and stat crunching involved.

Of course you'll also want to grow your own empire within your household and aspire for more material goods -- a goal that's likely linked to your career. It's very fun to jump in, create some characters, choose goals, and watch those meters rise just like a regular old RPG. It's one of the most satisfying aspects of The Sims 4.

Emotions are perhaps the biggest addition, and while I didn't find them all that intriguing, they allow you to connect with your creations more than ever before. In short, events can happen that adjust your mood, which your character will wear on their sleeve. Recent real-world innovations like the rise of smartphones are incorporated into the experience to help you boost your charac?ters' spirits, and it's enjoyable to figure these out. To help get them out of undesirable sp??ats, Sims also have a more natural way of speaking to each other, which is an improvement for those of you who prefer group interactions.

Sadly, a lot of the long-standing issues with the series have carried over into The Sims 4, like the lack of direct control you ofte??n have over your creations. While it's great to have them do their own thing most of the time, sometimes the AI isn't smart enough to handle an important task that's right in front of their faces. If you attempt to queue up an action occasionally, it may not work or they might get utterly confused and just stop doing it altogether.

The biggest problem however is the amount of regression that has been made since The Sims 3, which I would consi??der the pinnacle of the series. Big features that we've come to expect are gone, like the entire toddler stage, parking lots, pools, true neighborhood e??xploration elements (not just instances), and the inclusion of a real living world around your house.

The lack of exploration is my top complaint, as the game is separated by lengthy loading screens and a distinct lack of cohesiveness. Instead of seamlessly walking out your door and into the great outdoors in an open world, you'll be greeted with constant instancing and tangentially linked zones that don't lend themselves well to a simulation game. This is a massive bummer for people like me whose favorite aspect of The Sims 3 was walking around with no real goal in mind.

Every world I was a part of just felt so...isol?ated as well. There was no real neighborhood feel even though I crafted my own inhabitants. Everything was sort of "spotlighted" onto your central family and household, which is great in some ways, but disappointing when you consider how right the last game got it. Random events like burglaries also feel less frequent, or are completely scrapped in general (you guessed it, burglars are gone).

There's also less clothing and building options, which is a shame, and I suspect more will be added eventuall??y over the course of the game's lifetime with free and paid DLC (pools, costumes, ghosts, and more careers are confirmed). Still, it feels weird to essentially downgrade for a slightly better set of visuals and a few mechanics that aren't nearly as groundbreaking as each iter??ation was before it.

The Sims 4 has room to grow, but right now you're better off continuing to play its predecessor. While certain features were axed i??n the name of progress, those features were a large reason why many have come to love the series in the first place.

The post Review: The Sims 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

And Amber...It's Amber

EA made a video series called "Weirder Stories" to showcase the wacky lives of some theoretical citizens in the upcoming The Sims 4, and then literally made the most dull character it could. Cribbing from Dos Equis' "Most?? Interesting Man in the World" bit, the "Stay Weirder" trailer?? tells the story of a man whose greatest accomplishments include staying up until midnight once and making a stack of flapjacks.

However, the se?cond recently released trailer features Amber. And, well, it's Amber. That's all that needs to be said about that.

When Maxis' The Sims 4 drops on September 5, players will have the chance to mold beings that are as interesting or boring as they'd like. Or, they can make an Amber (provided their iteration of Amber isn't too dependent upon swimming in pools or being around toddlers).

The post The Sims 4 ‘Weirder’ series tells the story of an incredibly not weird man appeared first on Destructoid.

You'd certainly hope so

The Sims 4 won't "include every single feature and piece of content we added to The Sims 3 over the last five?? years," according to its developers, but?? modding? Yeah, that's not going anywhere.

Sims VIP has recapped details out?? of a recent Creator's Camp event at EA:

• The in-game options panel has a section for mods (script and non-script alike)
• There will be a mod directory in the user data folder
• The official forums will have a section specifically for modding
• "Package files will not attach to creations when uploaded"

After word got out that The Sims 4 would not have swimming pools, the team said it chose to prioritize "the features that make Sims come alive," and that there had to be tradeoffs. Which is a funny way of wording it, given that pools are a preferred method of cutting Sims' lives short. I'm not necessarily expecting modders to be able to implement them, but th??at'd sure be funny.

??The Sims ??4 Creator’s Camp: Modding Masterclass [Sims VIP]

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Preview

We've seen some of the key features of The Sims 4 since its announcement around this time last year.. We know, for example, how easy it is to create your character, and we've seen how they've overhauled the game's build mode. But Maxis has only briefly touched on how you'll create and develop your character's goals and emotions. We saw ??a bit more of how that works at a ?recent pre-E3 briefing.

Aspirations are long-term goals for a Sim. When you build your character you'll pick from a selection to start along the path of one of these?? aspirations, which gives your Sim different goals to complete. You can make your sim athletic or knowledgeable, among others. I saw a demonstration where one Sim was set to become a computer whiz. 

Traits come with these aspirations; these abilities and tendencies give your Sim more depth. For example, the "quick learner" trait can help your Sim build skills faster. So while the aspiration gives yo??ur Sim its overall goal, the traits under it have an effect on the Sim's overall personality. 

Emotional traits could have your Sim being cr??anky all the time, and lifestyle traits could make it snobby. Maxis explained that these trait choices ?will even have an impact on how your Sim moves and feels.

All of this plays into interactions with other Sims. A Sim's emotional state is affected b??y chosen interactions, the environment, and those previously mentioned traits. For example, being happy could lead to giving another Sim a heartfelt compliment. If they hit it of, a music-loving trait could have them talking about new albums. Traits can even have Sims building skills faster. That same music lover could pick up piano playing faster than normal, for example.

And while we're on relationships, for the first time there's a new relationship track for The Sims 4, giving each a friendship track and a romantic track. This can bring about some interesting situations. I saw an example where a Sim wasn't exactly friends with anoth??er, but did have have romantic interests. They were like enemies with benefits. 

The post The ?Sims 4: Aspirations and emotional traits systems shown appeared first on Destructoid.

One year later

Update 10 is available today for SimCity, meaning you can finally play the game offline. Without an Internet connection. By yourself. Like every single past Sim City game ever.

EA has an FAQ on what yo??u can expect, such as how there won't be leaderboards, achievements, and some other things because you'??re playing offline. The Global Market is still available, but all the prices are fixed.

They? also shared some cheat codes for you to make a ton of quick cash. That was nice of them.

The post SimCity can finally be played offline appeared first on Destructoid.

Here's why

In a blog post, SimCity single-player mode lead engineer Simon Fox has written about the lengthy process required to properly move away from multiplayer. "By the ti??me we're finished we will have spent over six and a half months working to write and rewrite core parts of the game to get this to work," he explained. "Even things that seem trivial, like the way that cities are saved and loaded, had to be completely reworked in order to make this feature function correctly.

"I wish it were as simple as flipping a switch and telling the game to communicate with a d?ummy client rather than our server, but it's more than that. Entire calculations had to be rewritten ??in order to make the game function correctly." The full post, linked below, covers more specifics.

Not that Maxis will get much sympathy for something many players feel should have been there in the first place, but, interesting to know. Offline play is "in the final stages of testing" before it'll be available through Update 10 for SimCity. I'm still apathetic about the whole situation to the point where I may n?ever play the game, online or off. It's sure looking that way.

Engineering SimCity for Offline Play [SimCity]

The post It took Maxis six mo?nths to rework SimCity for offline appeared first on Destructoid.

A forthcoming update will remove the requirement to be online for single-player

What a difference 48 hours makes. On Saturday we talked about how Maxis was introducing modding to SimCity but were leaving some fairly restrictive rules in place to preserve the integrity of the multiplayer side. Today however, Maxis studio manager Patrick Buechner has announced that an offline single-player mode will be part of an upcoming update. 

So what will this mean for players? Patrick confirms that "all of your p?reviously downloaded content will be available to you anytime, anywhe?re, without the need for an internet connection." A separate singe-player mode will be available that has local save files. Staying online will of course give you access to leaderboards and all the online features you'd expect.

Adding mods to SimCity makes more sense now that the game will be able to be played offline as there won't be any cheating to get top spots on the leaderboards. Still this whole thing has been a fiasco. Initially SimCity couldn't be played offline, then some folks found a way, then offline play was a possibility, and now it??'s arriving almost six months after the original release. The only silver lining I can see from this is that the publisher ?will seriously think twice before having an always-online single-player game that could work just as well offline.

The post SimCity will finally be playable offline appeared first on Destructoid.

If you want to get truly crazy with Maxis' flawed city builder you may be out of luck

We've said it plenty of times before but mods for PC games are great. Mod support is something I look for in games but it was no surprise that SimCity didn't allow mods. With the game being online all the time? I assumed that EA wasn't going to allow the possibility of someone making an "offline mode" mod within a few days to get around being connected to the internet whilst playi??ng.

Now Maxis is allowing mods for SimCity but there's lots of conditions you'll have to abide by. A blog entry posted on the official SimCity website says that the developer and publisher "encourage you to create, redistribute and consume mods" and that EA will not "p?re-screen, endorse or support any mods." So far, so good -- companies don't tend to recognize most mods outside of a "Hey, we think this is kinda cool"  and I can't imagine EA would be an??y different.

Now most of the other rules make sense; you're not going to be able to make a mod that harms anyone's user experience, you can't sells mods, you can't make a mod that's going t??o have content that would make it above the main game's ERSB 10+ rating and you can't make mods that affect the multiplayer aspects of the game. Maxis can and most likely will "take disciplinary action" against players who break those rules.

All of this leaves me wondering what you can really do with mods apart from creating some custom skins for vehicles and buildings. The main complaints I've heard about SimCity relate to t??he size of the cities you can build and the always-online requirement and it doesn??'t seem this policy on mods are really going to change that.

Maxis encourages SimCity modding then sets restrictive gro??und rules [PC Gamer]

The post You can now mod SimCity but only so far appeared first on Destructoid.

Hello? Anyone still reading this? ... Hello?

Are you still playing SimCity?! Anyone? Uhhh, well hey if you somehow still are there's going to be new content launching on November 12 in the form of Cities of Tomorrow. As you c??an guess by that name, you're going to get buildings that are going to look all future like.

Sigh. This game had such potential. Maybe I'll give it an??other shot when this update is released. Maybe?.

The post Hey look, SimCity is getting future cities appeared first on Destructoid.

Bigger cities, however, are definitely not happening

An offline mode for SimCity isn't outside the realm of possibility. Especially not in a world where Blizzard plans to take out its auction houses in Diablo III. (I'm still shocked that's going through.) "Right now we have a team specifically focused on exploring the possibility of an offline mode," wrote Maxis Emeryville general manager Patrick Buechner in a state-of-SimCity post.

"I can't make any promises on when we will have more information, but we know this is something that many of our players have been asking for. While the ??server connectivity issues are behind us, we would like to give our players the ability to play even if they choose not to connect. An offline mode would have the additional benefit of providing room to the modding community to experiment without interfering or b?reaking the multiplayer experience." As if we needed to be sold on this!

Other teams were formed to investigate specific features suggested by players, such as allowing larger cities in the game. That's not happening. "The system performance challenges we encountered would mean that the vast majority of our?? players wouldn’t be able to load, much less play with bigger cities," said Buechner.

"We've tried a number of different approaches to bring performance into an acceptable range, but we just couldn't achieve it within the confines of the engine. We've chosen to cease work on bigger city sizes and put that effort into continuing to evolve the core game and explore an offline mode. Some of the experiments we conducted to improve perfo??rmance on bigger cities will be rolled into future updates to improve overall game performance."

State of SimCity [SimCity]

The post SimCity team looking into offline mode appeared first on Destructoid.

Do they really need to ask?

Maxis has started a discussion on its forums about possibly allowing user-generated content in SimCity. This is something everyone was screaming for when the game came out?, since previous tit??les were mod friendly.

No official plans for mod support have been announced yet; the developer is just trying to see if the interest is out there. To me, and a lot of the people in the Maxis forums, it??'s very obvious that people are interested in being able to mod the game.

The?? types of user-generated content and mods under consideration will be ones that "do not jeopardiz?e the integrity of the gameplay or harm the experience of others" and don't affect "the simulation for multiplay games." Basically, Maxis doesn't want to allow any game-changing mods, and instead only wants to allow cosmetic items.

The post Maxis talking to fans about mod support?? for SimCity appeared first on Destructoid.