Just wondering if any Dopers are playing The Sims Online beta and want to meet up in game at some time. I’ve created two characters on two of the servers so far.
So, what do you think of it? I have only read a few “reviews” on the offical sims boards, and 80% of them said it was the type of thing they got bored of within a couple of hours. Do you think it will be worth the $10/month fee that goes along with it?
Frankly, I think it’s going to be a big a nightmare as The Sims Unleashed currently is, bugs-wise (given that MAXIS is screwing up everything lately), but I’ve haven’t had any interest in TSO since I found out it was a pay-to-play deal, since I don’t have an internet connection on my own computer and therefore would get little use out of it, so I’m probably biased.
I agree with most of them. I’m having serious doubts about whether I’d pay for it, though I’m having some fun during this free period. I don’t trust Maxis to work the bugs out and get the game code up to a decent speed, considering the way The Sims just gets worse and worse with each patch. At the moment, there are some truly horrific bugs, though the game is in an actual playable form.
The biggest problem I have is the way the game is emerging. It’s turning into a game where you do nothing but make money and buy objects. You still have to meet your Sims’ needs, and they’ll still refuse to do stuff if one of their needs is too low. Oh, and building up skills is actually even more boring than in the single-player game since you can’t advance time. I was reading The Sims Online boards and a couple of people mentioned that they were knitting or crocheting during that time. I admit that I was switching over to my other computer and reading this board. That’s a really bad sign, I admit.
One of the biggest complaints a lot of people have is that everyone tries to make these all-in-one types of places filled with different types of money-making objects like the pizza making machine, which is a four-player game that can make you a lot of money. The problem with this is that eventually everyone ends up with a similar type of house.
Another complaint is that you have to have roommates in order to have a big place. Otherwise you only get a small lot to build on. I’m not 100% sure if that’s true or not since when I was expanding my lot after getting a roommate (who I’m pretty sure is a kid), I thought I saw where you could expand your lot without roommates but at a higher price.
But there is some good in the game, too, or I wouldn’t ask if anyone else wanted to meet up. The pizza-making game is fun to me and I enjoy just playing it, simple though it is. It’s kinda neat to use the chalkboard or the potion lab and see your skills go up while at the same time being able to sell the results of your work.
I like the chat bubbles over everyones’ heads as they talk, although they do tend to overlap if a lot of people are in the area. Even though you still tend to get a bit of out-of-game conversation like, “This lag is bad,” and “Are you going to pay for this when it comes out,” a lot of the conversation fits in an odd stream-of-consciousness sort of way.
Anyway, I’ll keep playing it as long as it’s free and then I’ll have to see how it’s improved up to the end. If they put it out full of bugs and with a lot of the design flaws already inherent in it, no way would I buy this.
I agree with most of them. I’m having serious doubts about whether I’d pay for it, though I’m having some fun during this free period. I don’t trust Maxis to work the bugs out and get the game code up to a decent speed, considering the way The Sims just gets worse and worse with each patch. At the moment, there are some truly horrific bugs, though the game is in an actual playable form.
The biggest problem I have is the way the game is emerging. It’s turning into a game where you do nothing but make money and buy objects. You still have to meet your Sims’ needs, and they’ll still refuse to do stuff if one of their needs is too low. Oh, and building up skills is actually even more boring than in the single-player game since you can’t advance time. I was reading The Sims Online boards and a couple of people mentioned that they were knitting or crocheting during that time. I admit that I was switching over to my other computer and reading this board. That’s a really bad sign, I admit.
One of the biggest complaints a lot of people have is that everyone tries to make these all-in-one types of places filled with different types of money-making objects like the pizza making machine, which is a four-player game that can make you a lot of money. The problem with this is that eventually everyone ends up with a similar type of house.
Another complaint is that you have to have roommates in order to have a big place. Otherwise you only get a small lot to build on. I’m not 100% sure if that’s true or not since when I was expanding my lot after getting a roommate (who I’m pretty sure is a kid), I thought I saw where you could expand your lot without roommates but at a higher price.
But there is some good in the game, too, or I wouldn’t ask if anyone else wanted to meet up. The pizza-making game is fun to me and I enjoy just playing it, simple though it is. It’s kinda neat to use the chalkboard or the potion lab and see your skills go up while at the same time being able to sell the results of your work.
I like the chat bubbles over everyones’ heads as they talk, although they do tend to overlap if a lot of people are in the area. Even though you still tend to get a bit of out-of-game conversation like, “This lag is bad,” and “Are you going to pay for this when it comes out,” a lot of the conversation fits in an odd stream-of-consciousness sort of way.
Anyway, I’ll keep playing it as long as it’s free and then I’ll have to see how it’s improved up to the end. If they put it out full of bugs and with a lot of the design flaws already inherent in it, no way would I buy this.
I’m playing it too. It’s a pretty interesting experiment, but I too am not sure I’ll pay 50 bucks for the game itself, followed by the rumored $15 a month for the account. I like the idea that people can get together and come up with an idea, and attempt to turn that model into a successful business. I’ve seen or heard of people setting up restaurants, clubs, bars, gyms, game shows, and whatever else they could dream up. My roommate and I are still trying to figure out what we’re going to do.
Of course, there are a few problems that are common among MMORPGs (if this game even falls into that category). There are plenty of malcontents roaming about Interhogan, and they all seem to enjoy coming to “Slacker Central”.
One “young lady” came by to see us last night, and “she” informed us that “she” was a prostitute. “She” did a few little seductive moves and invited us back to “her” place. Then “she” left a $2 tip on “her” way out.
The biggest problem with the game as far as I’m concerned is the levelling, as people above have mentioned. Yes, levelling is supposed to be hard, and it’s not supposed to happen instantly, but it’s usually at least a little fun. I’ve just been getting “Slacker J” started on the workout machine and working on my website (God bless home networking). There’s no way to level up without doing something else and maintain your sanity.
Overall I think it has potential, but I’ll be reading the reviews carefully when it comes out (which is supposed to be soon - this game doesn’t look like it’s under a month away from complete IMO) before I pick it up.
Hey, Slacker, I left you a message in Interhogen.
I’m playing the beta as well, I have characters in two cities.
If enough Dopers are playing, would anyone be interested in creating a house in whatever city goes online next?
My biggest complaint is that this game “as is” is going to get old extremely fast. I also set my little Sim to work on the computer, and go do some housework (probably not a bad thing, I don’t get nearly enough housework done while playing other computer games). There is no incentive to make your Sim or your house specialize in anything (as was mentioned above). It does take a lot of time to move your Sim’s skill levels up, but I’ve seen people with their skills maxed out and they have only been playing a few days.
One thing that I would like to see is some reward for actually being good at things. People like to play games, and I think being good at the games should have more of a pay off. (Can you tell I’m a little competitive?) I think it would also improve the game if you could do something – solve puzzles or something, to increase the skill points instead of just zoning out as the Sim talks in the mirror.
On a positive note, I am happy to see that most people playing are nice, fun people. In some of the promotional materials, Maxis seemed to make a big deal about how some characters would just be jerks all the time. So far, I have encountered very, very few people whose goal is to be disruptive. I’m sure this will change, but I’m enjoying it for now.
Yes indeedy :D. I sent one back. It’s easy to miss the fact that you have a new message, the icon just flashes quietly in the menu area.
I’m not playing the beta but it sounds like some of the problems with the beta us whats basically wrong wiht the actual game its self …
But there magnified as you dont have a family to keep track of Its just you alone
But maxis/electronic arts is stuck in a hard place they have to keep enough of the game for original fan base and make it also diffrent for people whos never played the game
But I think they should of made it like say the normal pc games do and just released a multiplayer server add on ala battlenet nova world and not its own pay service
Yeah, that sounds cool. I’d need to delete one of my current Sims, but I have one that I don’t care about. I may have to wait to make a new one, though.
I think a lot of the people who have maxed out skills are exploiting bugs in the game. For example, a lot of people move their Sim to the pool and keep them there until they max out Body. Then they go over to the pinata* and play until they have thousands of $, because there’s a bug that causes you to get something like $1300 once your score is at 10.99. So they have high scores and are rich. Others just get their Needs high and then set them to one task while they do something else. I once set my character to reading to get her Fun up and then I went and took a shower. I like your idea, delphica, of giving us puzzles to solve or whatnot to raise skills. Make skill raising an actual interactive process.
*Anyone know how to get the tilde over the “n?”
In case you don’t know, there is an ongoing discussion of TSO in the alt.games.the-sims Usenet group. It doesn’t sound as though many people are having fun with it. One fellow described it as better than watching paint dry, but I think he was being charitable.
(Oh, and I think the code for an “n” with a tilde is Alt+0241.)
Are y’all leaving feedback to Maxis about your criticisms/problems with the game? I know that they’re very interested on getting feedback, even at this stage when it looks to be near release, to know what they need to change and improve.
Unlike many other MMO games, this is about the closest you’ll get to seeing a commercial game tailor-made for what the players want to get out of it. It’s very much ingrained in the Maxis philosophy, and that’s not just PR or corporate double-speak. But I’m skeptical that they’re paying as much attention to the alt.games.the-sims newsgroup or this message board as they would be to their own feedback channels.
In short: they’ll listen, really!
I just got the CD - thanks for the warnings/info…
I’ll try it this weekend, it seems like it will go nicely with housecleaning.
I’ve been on the Sims Online boards about as much as this one. I definitely report bugs as I see them, and make plenty of suggestions, or endorse the ones I like.
And yes, you’re right. They do listen to us.
Um,
this thing has been downloading for two hours now… does it get better? Or will I have to deal with that sort of thing every time I wish to play?
LD MT SC!
BURN!
(repeat 47 times)
amarinth, are you talking about the patch? I think there’s a really big patch at the beginning.
Marine_One: LARGES ONLY! Only call out larges ppl.
BTW, if anyone wants to look for me, I’m Mary Elizabeth on Interhogan and Melissa Beardon on Calvin’s Creek. I’m mostly on Calvin’s Creek, because I can’t get the patch to get into Interhogan.
Well, after a 5 hour download, I finally got in.
It wasn’t too bad, but I ran into the problems listed above - can’t imagine paying $15/month to sit and watch my Sim read. (especially now that the skills are decaying, odd idea there, and the limit for the beginning of the decaying is very low.)
The interactivity part has also been really low. Crowded houses where everyone is standing around, bashing pinatas & not talking to each other. I’m not sure I see the appeal over the CD game.
Oddly enough, I find myself drawn back to the game even after I’m bored and have already logged off. In fact, I’m trying to hurry to finish this review I’m working on so I can get back to it. I haven’t been able to play as much as I’d like because I had to play another game. And the weird thing is, I spend most of my time reading when I’m playing the game.
Oh, and they’re wiping Interhogan tonight. I want to try to get back on with Mary Elizabeth once the wipe has gone through.