On the Positive Side…
by Alphaville Herald on 18/05/04 at 12:51 pm
by Hyper
After being asked by a AVH news reporter to be interviewed over the “unfair” Dan’s Grove elections, I got to thinking, I refused to be interviewed because, I felt the AVH is/was trash and never published one positive story. So to make a long story short after getting hyped up over the elections, I went to Uri and demanded to know why he has never published a story saying something positive about TSO. His response was simple, no one has ever written one. I decided then to change that instead of whine about it. Maybe now that I have been forced out of TSO I have far too much free time on my hands. I do know that not being able to log in makes me miss my friends, the jokes, the games and the silliness!
I might be one of those rare cases who really enjoy TSO no matter what, hey, call me a Maxis Lover if you wish I don’t mind in fact I am PROUD of it! I support them and although I might not love every single new feature or I might think that they are not doing something right I just have to have faith that things will pick up! Also Maxis has been hard at work look at all the new features we’ve had:
Nightclub Jobs
New Friendship Webs
New Items
New Pets
Reintroduction of Maze
New funny things that happen when teleporters are used wrongly
Glow sticks on the Dance floor!
Now, I will admit not everybody enjoys the new nightclub job and not everybody is thrilled with the new friendship webs and some sims 120% HATE the new system for maze. However, I actually think that the new maze is a good thing. The new rare pets are draining the excess amount of money out of TSO and the maze can no longer be over abused. Sure the new GIR is out ect. ect. But, it cannot produce the same amount of money it used to! Sure people will always cheat but now at least things are more stable not so many payout homes people cannot afford to buy their way up the top 100 list it is a challenge for the dedicated sim player again. Sims cannot come in and build their fortune then dream house make it up to the top 100 list in 60-90days then get bored and quit. It now takes more time to do these things and hey getting there is half the fun right?
Sure some may disagree with me and this article might not be the most popular on the AVH because good news hardly ever sells but I think it’s about time that the AVH started posting a few articles about TSO actually being a good fun game for some people that still enjoy playing the game the way it was MEANT to be played.
TBT
May 18th, 2004
What you mean EA/Maxis never intended for teenage whores, mafias, scammers, simolean or tso item sellers, bot users, beggars, borrowers, whiners, praisers, theives, etc.. to be in their game? Heh they didn’t think too hard did they? I mean it is the sims and that is to emulate real life isn’t it? Seems to me you should expect that if you’re trying to emulate or immitate real life…
Good article glad you’re happy and i’m sure many others are too!
Paul
May 18th, 2004
Hello nice blog but give here many colors .
. Write comment at my blog .
Open my blog http://www.paul414.blog.onet.pl .
I can’t english becouse I’m Pole , Polish man hi hi hi
Paul
May 18th, 2004
Oh do you have gg ( gadu-gadu ) ??
Claydog
May 18th, 2004
You think TSO is going to pick up? TSO wont be around much longer. I’ll give it 4 or 5 months.And the new pets, jobs, rare items etc is just another way maxis is trying to get people back. Trust me, they are losing people daily. I think msot of the new features are stupid…
The maze is dumb, even tho i never played maze and i dont play TSO anymore.
I think it’s about time that the AVH started posting a few articles about TSO actually being a good fun game for some people that still enjoy playing the game the way it was MEANT to be played” It used to be fun..not anymore.
And for you saying “
ajdown@jp
May 18th, 2004
Well Claydog….
1) If it’s so bad, what would you do to improve it?
2) If it’s that bad, why are you still playing?
aj
Hyper
May 18th, 2004
All I am saying is that *I* still enjoying playing TSO and I feel that sometimes people tend to make TSO out to be a lot worse than it actually is. I might be warped I might be a rare case but I know that TSO will always hold great memories for me as one of my favorite games of all time and my very first introduction into the online world and online relationships.
TBT
May 18th, 2004
AJ,
you addressed claydog and basically asked him direct questions, but he never said it was bad.. He simply asked that someone else thinks TSO is picking up? And unless you are 100% blind you can plainly see thsat it isn’t! It’s been dying all along..
He said it won’t be here much longer and although you may not see this it’s going to come to an end..
Custom content could improve it but the suits in the big offices seem to think that’ll bring problems and lawsuits from users who experience things that may not be appropriate for others..
Again he never said it was bad so why question why he was still playing. He said he felt the new updates were stupid and hey he is entitled to his opinion and maybe they weren’t a part of the game he utilizes whereas someone else might…
and if you botherd he did say how AVH *SHOULD* poost more positive articles aboutv TSO.. So where are you coming from? ;-p
Claydog
May 18th, 2004
I was quoting Hyper when i said about time AVH starts posting positive things. I like what its been posting lol.
For some reason it cut off my post lol.
Aj, i dont play tso anymore.
and for your 1st question, i dont no if you want me to tell you how to improve tso or the polls. So i will tell you both. I think they should of did the election on a site. The hand counting is unreliable. It gives people to many oppertunities to cheat. Especcially since one of the candidates was a enemy of the VP.
And to make the game better, i think they should of left it alone when the normal webs were around. I liked them and it showed most of TSO liked them. Mafias were a large part of the game and thats where maxis made most of their money. There is barely any mafias around any more. Maxis should bring the webs back, but even then i would never come back. And i think its pathetic on their part on how they are trying to get people back into the game.
trailblazer
May 18th, 2004
I think EA’s comment in that U.S. News article said it all about what they think of TSO “It’s a boring game nobody wants to play”
If TSO was improving that comment would have never been made, when the company that produces the game calls it a expensive failure and it’s boring to play, you can bet it’s life expectancy is not looking good.
I give TSO till Sims 2 is a proven hit and EA will dump it, I think that is exactly what they are waiting on right now, Sims 2 being a major hit will take away any negative press about them dumping TSO, they can do it quietly and without fuss,EA has pretty much dropped any major additions to the game, what new content there is comes very slowly and maybe 1 object every 6 months,even their newest object was only released to those getting new members, leaving all players out in the rain again with nothing new to do.
Pretty much the overall view from reviews and EA itself the game is a flop, I don’t see them supporting it much longer.
Claydog
May 18th, 2004
And i dont think the AVH should change anything lol. I like the way its run and its a good thing for TSO. And hyper says they need to post more positive things..well maybe TSO isnt that positive.
Claydog
May 18th, 2004
yes, i agree with trail blazer. Sims 2 is coming out in july or sumthing and they give 3 motnhs notice b4 the game is gone. So i think 2 months then the extra 3 months is all its going to be around. TSO wont be around after this summer. I gaurantee it lol
RB
May 18th, 2004
TSO will NOT be around after early 2005.
**Nightclub Jobs** – Another pointless NPC job. But it least it adds a bit of normal slow fun to the TSO. Robot factory is too hectic and fast. Resturant is well….. the resturant. lol. not much there.
**New Friendship Webs** – Sux ass. It’s a joke. The new webs are completely crap. They do not fix the original problem, they go way overboard and break other things and make the f.web system worse in an attempt to fix the original problem. They are a major remedy for a minor problem.
**New Items** – Like?? What? Anything that’s not player referred?
**New Pets** – A good thing. And fun. One of the very few quite positive additions.
**Reintroduction of Maze** – They botched this too. Added double punishment. You don’t need a pay cut when you have OWP kick in soon already.
***New funny things that happen when teleporters are used wrongly*** -
Not seen this. Sounds fun, but hardly a benefit to the masses.
***Glow sticks on the Dance floor!*** – A minor cosmetic upgrade for the easily amused people.
Lets see some REAL content wih meat. Highly fun, amusing and interactive. Like the cannons EA is blackmailling us with if you want one.
Not more crumbs.
- RB
TBT
May 18th, 2004
Agree with RB here give us somethjing that will keep our attention beyond a day ok? Some of us aren’t into fisher price toys anymore ;-p
Liz
May 18th, 2004
Hyper I would love to see more positive things as well and glad to see you are doing something about it instead of just whining like most others do about the AVH. If I had something positive to write about on TSO trust me I would but there just never seems to be anything like that anymore (at least in my gameplay) getting excited over a new job which only interacts with NPC’s is to me very boring and a waste of time. again your entitled to your opinion and i think its great you can find fun in some of this new stuff. I also don’t see TSO being around for much longer, i give it till the end of the year.
Zerg
May 18th, 2004
Let’s face it TSO is a “be fun and you’ll have it” game. Its only as fun as you make it ..its an almost blank slate and up to you to do with it as you may. If youre not having fun..go play SWG or take a walk! I love the game ..cant get enough.
Devil's Advocate
May 18th, 2004
“Some of us aren’t into fisher price toys anymore ;-p”
Maybe that’s the audience they are looking for?
Urizenus
May 18th, 2004
I think there is a fun element to the game, and Hyper is right to get us thinking about it, but I don’t think she has nailed the source of it — certainly it can’t be things like virtual glow sticks. The real story is burried very deeply in tso life, and it has to do with the kinds of creative endeavors implemented by users in spite of the limitations on gameplay that have been engineered into the game by Maxis. There is also the issue of socializing, which can be fun, but I think tso has more going for it than straight chat. Question is, what is that hidden factor x, and how does it work when it works?
Cocoanut
May 19th, 2004
“it has to do with the kinds of creative endeavors implemented by users in spite of the limitations on gameplay that have been engineered into the game by Maxis. There is also the issue of socializing, which can be fun”
Exactly Uri, on both counts. For me the X factor you mention is the humor and beauty of the way the Sims and their world are depicted artistically, and in all their interactions. Nothing else out there pins that the way Sims does. It is unique, and provides for a very unique world that the players adore. That’s one reason, I think, why people care so very much about keeping it going.
coco
Hyper
May 19th, 2004
I do not want anyone digging deep into my article, It means what it says nothing about when TSO will close or any such thing. Sure some of the new things they’ve added are “fisher price toys” but it is the little stuff that they can throw inbetween the big stuff that keeps us somewhat entertained. I have friend who is easily amused and when she gets going she drags the whole town into her amusement and just her being amused creates memories of the day we turned inside out when using the teleporter or what happend when we all turned into monkies.
Rais
May 19th, 2004
I think it has to do with what we learn about others, and about ourselves, when we play the game.
And the human spirit… People always think of new ways to earn money, new business endeavors. New ways to attract crowds to their property. Do things that never even occurred to the developers at Maxis.
Some people choose the positive and others choose the negative – play by the rules and have fun and make others happy, or break the rules, scam and hurt others.
Or you can follow the rules in one city and break them in another… Some people even try to MAKE the rules.
It’s interesting to see what kind of a person you really are when there are no restrictions. Nobody really knows who you are, your age or how you look in real life, you’re judged by your actions instead of being destined to fulfil other people’s expectations of you, based on appearances.
And the evil that men do (lives on and on)
But I like the glow sticks too
Jazzie
May 19th, 2004
Right on, Hyper! I love TSO and have been playing since Dec. 2002. I don’t know if it’s true that TSO is “dying”…does someone have the numbers on this? I have a house in Blazing Falls and every night I have several brand new sims visit. Some are recreates and some have just picked up the game for the first time. It’s fun to see their amazement. Brings back good memories…lol. I have lost many good friends on Sims, but often they come back! That is always a nice surprise to see them pop back up at my door again. They say life was busy and they couldn’t play, but now things have calmed down. I look forward to the return of more of them this summer. I have never worried too much about how many gimmicks TSO DOESN’T have, but rather I just enjoy the interactions, joking and silliness that happens every night between me and many, many other players all over the world.
Tony Montana
May 19th, 2004
I am a first time poster but long time reader of AVH anyways True Tso has Good things in it but if they want more accounts here what they gotta add.
1.Bring Back Old webs!
2.More new Pets to add with others which Tso is getting on track on
3.Add items new ones or From the Offline like Spa Items.
4.Give more then 10k to start off.Sims are too poor to buy a house and with the free money houses
5.Get some new Ideas
By the way i am not new to this game and a player since July 1,2003
Urizenus
May 19th, 2004
I guess I don’t see why they can’t have some cities with old webs and some cities with new.
And of course they wouldn’t need new ideas if they gave us custom content. There are plenty of ideas here, thank you.
Tony montana
May 19th, 2004
Well i didn;t mean like get new ideas.I mean like put those good new ideas to use in Test center cause that what i thought it was for in the first place.Also Uri i agree if they gave us custom content they wouldn;t need new ideas and this game probably have what maxis expected in the first place.200,000 people in the first 3 months which i read in a magazine.
toy
May 27th, 2004
seems rediculous to toy that a multi million dollar company like EAcant do what a small company like LL does….. My god…… what TSO has been adding is eye candy, nothing more…. they need to give the players something real… the following is the 1.4 upgrade to SL thats being previewed now in SL……
Second Life 1.4.0 Preview May 26, 2004
======================================
More detailed information on the new features in Second Life 1.4 can
be found at http://secondlife.com/preview/
Audio
Audio in Second Life has been improved, with a rewrite of the core
audio engine. New features and improvements to existing features
include:
- HTTP audio streaming on a per-parcel basis. You can specify an HTTP
audio stream on a parcel from the parcel properties pane, which will
be played on a parcel if the user has enabled streaming audio.
- Audio can now be localized to your parcel by checking the “Local
Sound(?)” check box in the parcel options dialog. This is the
equivalent of putting that parcel inside a soundproof box – no outside
sounds will be played in the parcel, and none of your sounds will be
heard outside of the parcel.
Bug fixes and improvements include:
- Mute no longer requires a restart to take effect, and will properly
stop transfers of audio data.
- Sound preloads should no longer dramatically decrease the
performance of viewers in the area.
- Much improved prioritization of audio downloads.
- Improved prioritization of playback priority – in particular, looped
sounds should work much more effectively.
New Vehicle modes