Since his return to Twitter, SimGuruGrant has been quite the social butterfly! With so many different tweets and topics, we’ve decided we will round up his tweets on a weekly basis so you can read everything in one place. Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4!
I love mods. I think they're incredible. Whether they do things we haven't done yet, tweak things to be more as you personally want them (personalization is amazing), or do things we can literally never do (for whatever reason). https://t.co/NcEZVBkOcD
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 21, 2018
We have a dedicated crew who meets every morning to discuss what's happening in the community. Issues to investigate, saves to gather and research, and more. Here's a quick pic I snapped at the meeting yesterday was we were working on this update. pic.twitter.com/dlAj4hJHuV
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 26, 2018
As we're talking a lot about bugs, I want to bring up a topic that's being spearheaded by @SimGuruGraham and @SimGuruKate. We're trying to figure out how to be more transparent, while still staying within our restrictions on what we can and cannot say. (Thread)
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
Our basic high level idea is to share a prioritized list of issues we're trying to address in a public space. The idea being you can see what we're working on AND get an idea for the order we'll make the fixes. This then opens the floor for discussion.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
Our hope is to get a better discussion going regarding what we should fix, in what order, and why, to expedite our efforts and improve your satisfaction as we continue to support the game. As I said, this is in progress, we don't have all the details.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
When I say "reproduce a bug," it basically means we have to see the bug occur, and using our debug tools, find out why it's happening. Everything happens for a reason. A detective cannot solve a crime if they cannot visit the scene, if that makes sense.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
We 100% believe you all when you mention a bug. But until we can reproduce it using a Save or the information you provide…it's just an elusive criminal we can't find.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
Our goal isn't to please everyone – that is impossible. Our goal is to be as frank, forward, and honest as we can be with every interaction. https://t.co/ATc1Yfqjjo
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
Our basic process is:
1. Community tells us about the issue.
2. We reproduce the bug locally.
3. We research how to fix it.
4. We implement the fix.
5. We decide when to release it.Right now we're at step 3. I cannot confirm when it'll be fixed. https://t.co/5dEni4lBgV
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
Quick Note: We're still investigating/fixing some of the issues reported after the launch of Seasons and our last update. Keep in mind: next week is a holiday in the United States. But, we'll hit the ground running when we return. Stay tuned. We got you, fam.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
One of my joyful new roles is being the bringer of bad news. Before long, I shall be the most hated Simmer in allll the land! (But I think sometimes I'll get to share fun stuff, too.) https://t.co/fbgaJOVTlo
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
We are not currently planning to change the Plant Sim. We do know you guys love life states (we call them occult), and have many things in mind. https://t.co/39mAcYAYqe
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 27, 2018
We're using the polls to gather information, confirm or refute our assumptions, and guide what/how we make…sometimes. It's useful information. I'm getting almost 30k votes from our community. That's a lot. https://t.co/adrIC07VJu
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
I never said that. But, you may get one before the other(s). We can only make so much at once 🙂 https://t.co/oCcB0Y6lEm
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
It depends. Some occults we could do a ton with. Some are much smaller. I'm not specifying any of that for this poll. So, it's best NOBODY makes assumptions on what we may or may not do. https://t.co/8aoIAPLyFc
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
We could, but it means we reduce the coolness of each. Personally? I'd rather make a focused project for each. But, that's MY take. What do you think other folks? https://t.co/2weKzIWaYR
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
One expansion with all of these is probably the hardest thing to do *well.* https://t.co/YbXoG6z7dT
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
Simmers consistently respond really well to the small touches we try to add to the various packs. It's something we try to plan for and think about, though a lot of these are organic from individual members of our team. https://t.co/6Wo91JvUIr
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
Comparing TS4 to TS3 is always dangerous (different tech, core designs, in some ways different team). If we do 3+ life stages it makes it very difficult for us to make each unique, really deep, and provide long term depth and story telling for each. https://t.co/0fqTvdmRV1
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
Not sure what you mean by that. Many of us worked on TS3.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
If I'm being honest? It's unlikely we'd get all of them. Some? Probably? When? Sometime. https://t.co/CupDkjtSeq
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
We aren't following the pattern for TS4. As I've said, we're super busy with TS4. https://t.co/IdG43bhG6T
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 28, 2018
Some things we can't make on our engine. Some we can. It's best not to assume what we can and cannot make, unless we explicitly state so!
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Hmmm. Angels have dangerous religious connotations we'd want to avoid so religious groups don't feel excluded or singled out.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We probably wouldn't make a Mermaids expansion for University!
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Never said we were letting go of them. I will say that I think they're lower on the list in terms of broad storytelling potential and cool gameplay. But, who knows? What do you like about werewolves?
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
It's unlikely we'd just do the same thing.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We were just discussing the other day how we need to revamp our CAS UI (and maybe parts of build) to account for people with a lot of packs. I don't have a solution or time frame but it's on the radar, so to speak. https://t.co/nFm8ivqJqc
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We could, and again, these polls provide us information, but they don't mean we're making or not making a pack. I personally prefer making focused packs so we can really go deep, but who knows what we'll do and how we'll do it? There are a lot of fun options. https://t.co/vwr9HQ45gj
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Definitely on our list of things to figure out.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
When we made vampires, we sampled from a variety of fiction (movies, TV, books, comics). If we were to make Mermaids, or Witches, we would likely do the same. We try to let you create as many stories as possible. But, re: Wiccan, we'd avoid religious connotation. https://t.co/8bOz5nb9dV
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Game Packs are such a gift to us devs. We get to go deep on a thing that used to just be a side feature. Vampires in TS3 Late Night are nowhere near as cool as in TS4. Well, in my opinion. (And I designed the ones in TS3…) https://t.co/vDp32xzGQZ
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Open world isn't really a possibility at this point. But, cars and university are certainly possibilities.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Not really compatible with our code architecture.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Not really viable, no. It's an architectural change and we're 4+ years into The Sims 4 being live so it isn't really a thing we can just reverse.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We definitely know we could do more with them. My PERSONAL take would be to enhance things in this order:
1. Teens
2. Babies
3. Elders
4. Other stuffBut, that's just my opinion. You? https://t.co/38mfyOsyRq
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We've deliberately avoided Hybrids because they create a bazillion issues and are VERY hard to upkeep. When thinking about making a game that lasts for 5, 10, 15 years, and will have dozens of expansions, the combinations just start to not work. In TS2 it was a MESS. https://t.co/cirsGsw55P
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
They aren't really authored to work like this. I wonder if we could craft a suite of assets to do this…not sure. https://t.co/U4RfmEOOG8
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Religion is a very complex and nuanced culture and there are thousands of them. We do not want to have any stances on any religions, as that is not really our place as game creators. https://t.co/nwxh4KgCpe
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Trust me, we never would. There is no way to do it appropriately.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We know you guys want them and we have some neat ideas. But, who knows. https://t.co/j9IPBFPbJm
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
*probably* not, but I'm not sure. Nothing is certain.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We haven't been able to make any real progress on it, but I was talking to some Simmers who use wheelchairs a month or so ago and they helped us solve some design challenges. I'd be very very cool to do. https://t.co/McZOTU8WAI
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
I would want to have wheelchairs to reflect the stories of differently abled people. But, it could also work with elders and others. https://t.co/z3CnfOCxNy
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Moment of truth: When we talk to different folks, and do research, everyone has different terms. Disabled, handicapped, differently abled…I'm trying to tread carefully and respectfully. I apologize right now if I said something wrong. This affects my family as well. https://t.co/mpffvwSFo6
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Thank you for the article – I will definitely read it. Key to delivering on this feature is interacting with Simmers who are actually disabled to guide us, tell us what works, and what doesn't. I've already started talking to folks to learn about it.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Same with the idea of deaf Sims, which is something we're investigating – we're talking to Simmers who are deaf, hard of hearing, etc. so they can help guide us. Thanks for speaking up, i really appreciate it.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We have ideas on how to do the Simlish sign language. It would probably be a dab of ASL to abstract a lot of different socials.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Generations wasn't as popular with the larger community, actually. So a lot of people never tried it! A shame!
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Story Progression is 100% the least understood feature for the dev team, the fans, everyone. Everyone has a different assumption of what it does, which is funny and weird. There IS a form of it in TS4. But…overall "world stories" is a cool thing we should pursue. https://t.co/wEmxWEVuTQ
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We did that poll a week or so ago. HOrses did…very badly.
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
But, I imagine it's because outside of Create a Sim they'll be TINY. Really hard to see. But, worth an ask. https://t.co/vX6TFSxFqA
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Ummm. I don't know. The reality is, how does it grow? To what hair? Is it random? Is it consistent? Creating the content that looks good and feels satisfying would ultimately limit our ability to make this…meaningful? But I don't know. https://t.co/kYjhgcKLzS
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
6. We Implement it all.
7. We test it all.
8. Release it.
9. Gather feedback.
10. Update as needed.— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
Every game is different. https://t.co/WkpTq8kKiS
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
We change processes quite often. We always want to do better. https://t.co/Bfsqase6wE
— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 29, 2018
