Not long ago, the Left 4 Dead 2 “boycott” amicably wound up (I hate to admit it, it seems like an instance where online petitions do work.) Now outrage is brewing and gamers are cracking out the signatures with the news that the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will not support dedicated servers – the tried and true model of multiplayer FPS gaming. A brief but amusingly weary summary can be found here. Naturally, this sort of news would not be easy to accept for casual gaming communities, competitive clans, modders and their fans. The developer, Infinity Ward, already indirectly responded to this controversy, rebuking ‘the modders and the tuners’ who want to ‘bifurcate the community’ in favour of a solution that will satisfy the majority of their audience. But is it necessarily good to alienate your most ardent fans in this way? Sound familiar?

Now, neither of these are actually games I play. I rented Call of Duty 2 AGES ago if that counts for anything. It’s just interesting to see that video games will always arouse strong and passionate opinions, and there are circumstances where a game company simply has to make concessions for its own sake. Interesting sort of interaction.

Also interesting how apart from the SecuROM fiasco (for which The Sims was only one game affected) EA seems to be largely immune to its community opinion. Outside of their official forums, is there any meaningful interaction or contact to speak of? I believe this dynamic is no doubt driven by the ‘silent majority’ who help keep Sims games on the bestseller lists constantly. I wish they’d speak up more.

EA now typically spends two or three times as much on marketing and advertising as it does on developing a game. That’s because advertising is critical to getting a game in the top ten rankings. If you have a $10 million game, don’t be surprised if the the TV advertising costs drive the ad budget to $30 million. If a $60 game yields revenue of $35 for EA, then (according to my math) the company has to sell 1.1 million copies just to break even.

I’d sure like to know how much it cost to develop The Sims 3, and exactly how much of that budget was spent on flashy billboards and product placements.

(Source)

I enjoyed TS3’s freedom from expansions while it lasted, but all good things come to an end. EA have announced the first TS3 expansion.

I am wholly, WHOLLY unimpressed with a single flaw in this game design.

From the press release:

"[Players will] discover new cities in China, France, and Egypt, and share new stories."

Why am I unimpressed?

Because using real countries is a freaking stupid idea.

I once called this sort of thing a rule of the Sims universe: it’s not Earth! It’s fiction! Suspension of disbelief matters – but obviously not to EA, where money comes ahead of creating a coherent, entertaining game. Did not one person designing this game speak up and point out the ridiculousness of using real country names? Maybe they didn’t want to lose their jobs.

See, the sensible angle would be to describe locations as “European”, “Eastern”, or “Egyptian” (whatever, it’s a dead civilization anyway.) These vacation towns already have unique names – why not market the game with those, like Bon Voyage did?

Seriously, are we to believe that there’s a Sim Taiwan/China and a Sim Israel/Palestine too?

Will these places have real-world languages (hell no), terrible accented gibberish (probably) or just the same Simlish we’re used to (most likely)?

Are the developers trying to shove pro-Yankee imperialism down our throats by having Sims governed by a Leader of the Free World?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just the fact that all these questions exist shatter my suspension of disbelief and will ruin any enjoyment I could probably get out of this expansion.

But don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more reasons to hate on World Adventures. The linear, mission-based stories turning the game into less and less of a Wrightian sandbox. The inevitable bugs. Being the harbinger of the upgrade cycle. Cultural stereotyping. My loathing of Vacation and Bon Voyage. The content-stripping (taking content out of the game to plump out future EPs/SPs/the Store).

And the neighbourhood editor that has yet to see the light of day and probably never will. Now that EA is on the expansion wagon, this is the kind of thing that will get pushed to the bottom of the pile and stay there, despite pre-release ‘representations’ that it would be out a few weeks after release.

Really, the editor is the one thing that I’m still ‘following’ TS3 for apart from modding because I will never get attached to premades and premade towns.

Anyway, I’ve never been in this camp before. Before I would eagerly look forward to new expansions. Actually with the Sims, it would be what ‘brought me back to the game’ after not playing it for some time. But I am not going to buy World Adventures. I have no interest in it at all.

While it’s a blessing for those of us who hate micro-managing everybody, it doesn’t help players who want to keep records, levy fines and stop money coming from nowhere. If you want the degree of control back, you have to return to the TS2 static model. Well, it’s not clear how aging and story progression will be tied together, but I presume you’d need both on, otherwise you’d end up with families full of kids (no aging) or Sims growing old and dying alone without your input (no SP).

I imagine there will need to be some creative hacking of the game, plus the capabilities to allow it, before there could be a truly integrated ‘autonomous economy’ in TS3. Otherwise, players who wish to ‘integrate’ will need to return to meticulous micromanagement of each Sim. Bit of a bummer really. I really hate the giant promotion bonuses and 20K handouts.

• Technology never changes.
• Sims have different physiologies. They are pregnant for a large chunk of their lives, they are all the same height, and they make blue pee (and they can ONLY pee.)
• No real-world references in general, especially branded stuff. I would probably go to pains to avoid using brand names, or even pixelate the stuff like a 90s hip-hip music video. Advertising truly bugs me when it gets subliminially inserted into Sims stories.
• There is no English in the Sims world, no real-life writing or signs.
• Sims are fully capable of driving, swimming, etc. without lessons.
• Sims are strictly non-religious except for the odd supernatural element (i.e. Grim Reaper).
• Sims are more relaxed about privacy – witness the TS2 telephone directory. Also, they’re generally more permissive with their children and teens (letting them go off on their own), even though they can NEVER be left at home alone.
• Education and professions work differently. There’s no such thing as professional qualifications: any entry-level bum can become a doctor or lawyer without a degree (despite TS2′s weird reference in the Paramedic description to ‘night school’). Uni was a bit of an aberration if you ask me.
• Llamas must pervade everything. (Hey, why haven’t there been actual, ownable llamas in The Sims yet? If you’re listening, EA, OWNABLE LLAMAS!!!!

Nevertheless, I ended up with two excellent pieces of free software: GenealogyJ and GRAMPS.If you like keeping Sims family records, both are good free choices.I know that there are popular services like TribalPages but I specifically wanted software that could keep a local database, and perhaps export to a website or better yet, a graphical family tree.

Here’s a little comparison of GenealogyJ and GRAMPS.

GRAMPS:

• Requires Python
• Tricky to install if you have Windows – I had to follow these directions.
• Really easy to use
• No fancy graphical reports (which I could produce. I think you need GraphViz but didn’t work for me)
• Good textual features – most common surnames, ancestry
• Graphical pedigree view is nice
• Has its own database so you don’t need to save (can export to GEDCOM though)
• Outputs a comprehensive HTML site with info, pictures, ancestors, etc. of every family member. My favourite feature.

GenealogyJ:

• Requires Java
• Steeper learning curve than GRAMPS
• Makes terrific graphical family trees, can even include portraits
• Complicated interface
• Easy to  mess up and delete your work if you don’t know what you’re doing
• Uses the industry-standard .GED database – have to remember to save!

My recommendation? I would go with GenealogyJ, even though it’s marginally more difficult to use. GRAMPS definitely produces a prettier website though.

I like to world-build from a Sim perspective. Sims only perceive life in days and weeks (due to weekdays/weekends). So, the easiest calendar is one that counts what are known as ‘Sim Days’ from day 1 onwards. I don’t find this terribly immersive, although it works.

In TS2 I decided that 20 days would equal a ‘year’ (a tropical year I guess) due to the 5 day seasons. Complicated. It obviously messed up the days of the week with respect to seasons, especially because I played 3 day periods Prosperity-style). I ended up having to chart out the seven year cycle with a spreadsheet.

Complicated 5-day season calendar system

THEN I realised that I had to synchronise the weather all the lots. (Whenever you move onto a new lot the season resets to ’1 day left in summer’.)

But then, I saw some other Sims websites (like Lakeside Heights), that use the ’1 day = 1year’ system. It produces nice ages with real-looking years. The other benefit of using ‘year-like’ days is that genealogy looks more realistic for use in family trees.

Now that TS3 will have no seasons, for my Hood Project I plan on a simple date system, days only.Time will be measured Sim Days and Weeks. And the first day can even be SD 1900, as a tribute to SimCity 2000.

So I thought, the next time I do the whole hood-building thing, I’m going to cut back and chose to focus on the community. Small town dynamics and relationships, which is what The Sims is best at showing.

But what if the town had a say in its rules? I could start with a blank slate and let the ‘citizens’ choose what is best. Think about it – the sorts of rules that people play their hoods by are actually real-life political issues: immigration restrictions, taxes, criminal laws, corruption. What kinds of political opinion would exist in a Sim world?

I’ve sketched out a rough idea of two political factions or parties.

Conservatives would be made up of the self-made, founding families, who are sick of paying fees and taxes for everything. In effect, they would represent the ‘normal’ gameplay – freely spawning townies, money from nowhere, etc.

Radicals, community-minded and poorer Sims, would agitate for welfare and more local services. They would represent ‘rules and restrictions’ – career caps, income taxes, population control, etc.

Yes, I have very BROADLY stereotyped the politics here. The point is, Sims in my Hood Project will take sides, and the ‘rules’ of the hood will depend on which side is strongest.

In my abortive TS2 integrated hood, I devised a city Court to adjudicate local disputes. My idea was that Sims should have common law. Whatever the judged ruled in cases would become part of the local law. For example, a Sim dies when he is electrocuted by a television. His next of kin sues the television company in the Court. Maybe the judge would decide that yes, the company is liable and has to pay damages. Then that would become a precedent and any manufacturer could be liable.

This ‘Case Law’ would contrast with what I call Sim Law, the inherent rules of the game. Examples – Sims can’t commit murder. Bills must be paid otherwise you get Repo Man’d. Same-sex marriage is legal.

I thought having a legal system like this would be a nifty way to introduce rules into the game and create drama and tension. Breaches of the law such as trespassing or theft (both obvious ones in Sims games) could have a bit more colour than simply deducting a fine from the family funds. Hypothetical scenario – a pesky neighbour is hauled before the judge for repeatedly stealing lawn ornaments. However, the accused has hardly any money to pay a fine, and it’s his first offence. The judge orders him to do community service! For a week, he has to clean his neighbour’s house.

I’m looking forward to seeing if any of this will work in game.

Here’s how my system worked: each household would have one candidate, typically the one with the most political interest. All single-Sim households get one candidate between them. I would look at each Adult/Elder Sims’ relationship and record their vote – ranking each candidate on relationship score with a few guidelines:

• Sims always vote for themselves at #1
• Sims vote for family and lovers before (best) friends
• Sims vote for same-sex friends over opposite-sex friends (I call this the ‘bros-before-hoes’ rule)
• Sims never vote for their enemies/negative relationships
• Sims might vote for a 0/0 acquaintance, depending on the number of other Sims they’ve ranked, to reflect voter apathy.

These weren’t rigid rules, and a bit of randomness was sometimes involved (e.g. donkey voting).

The great thing about OpenSTV is that it lets you test out several different vote counting systems. Although it’s designed around single transferable voting, that system works terribly with neighbourhoods of Sims. There are too many coin-flip ties.

I personally found the Borda count best; it provides a numerical rank for each candidate, much like the ‘community score’ on some other Sims websites.

The system I was using, in retrospect, has quite a few flaws. Most Sims just vote for their housemate. And voting based on friendships isn’t the most realistic model. Maybe I’ll think of a better way to simulate politics by the time I get to work on my Hood Project.

Finally, here’s an example of the system in action, using Pleasantview as a test hood.

Election title: Pleasantview Council
Method: Borda without ballot completion
Number of total ballots: 13
Number of invalid or empty ballots: 0
Number of ballots used in the count: 13
8 candidate running for 1 seats.

 R|Cass|Don |Darr|John|Herb|Dina|Bran|Mary|Exha
  |andr|LOTH|en D| BUR| OLD| CAL|di B|-Sue|uste
  |a GO|ARIO|REAM|B   |IE  |IENT|ROKE| PLE|d
  |TH  |    |ER  |    |    |E   |    |ASAN|
  |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |T   |
=====================================================================================================================
 1|  49|  47|  41|  46|  39|  37|  42|  63|   0
  |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  | Borda count totals.

Winner is Mary-Sue PLEASANT.

Probably who you expected to win, right? ;)