#this is not the only game studio with problems

[katboykirby]

I totally understand wanting to know more details about the game itself. That's completely valid, and I don't think that anyone is going to argue that wanting to know more is wrong.

But I do work in game development, and I've worked in-studio on multiple live service mobage/mobile games, so hopefully this might help give some perspective based on personal experience!

The thing to remember is, unreleased details/information isn't just common for all games just in general (it's normal for everything from mobile games, to indie games, to AAA first party titles) but this is standard for the entire gaming industry. Every game ever made will keep a certain amount of information away from the audience, and this is completely on purpose. A game isn't supposed to have 100% of content and information available to the public before it releases. This is just standard marketing and copyright/IP protection practises. That's why it's considered such a big deal if games have any information or gameplay leaked to the public before release. Just look at huge franchises like Pokémon - they almost never release any info outside of the most basic details, leaving any public reveals until right up until the game is released. Players aren't supposed to know the entire PokéDex or story spoilers or new characters ahead of time, but huge leaks like that have happened before and it's ruined the experience of playing the new game for many players.

Again, it's TOTALLY normal and understandable to want to know more about the new OM game. I think a lot of us feel the same way. But not only is it important for game devs to keep a good amount of information withheld until release, but this isn't something that's unique to OM alone. Every game abides by this industry standard. The OM Team isn't keeping secrets from the players because they're trying to hide anything, they're simply following the standard protocol that all mobage titles abide by.

(There's some legal red tape involved in this too, such as the copyright/IP and information protection I mentioned earlier. But the legality of pre-release game info is a really dry and boring discussion that would need it's own whole post to really get into)

There's still a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding around the Kickstarter as well, and I'm not saying that's anybody's fault, but I've just seen this same confusion quite a few times by now so it's definitely not just you.

I'll throw the rest of my reply under a Read More tab though, since it'll probably get pretty lengthy 😅

As for the your claim regarding "game production" - I think that the problem here is a fundamental misunderstanding of what game production actually is, and what it means in different contexts.

To start with, it bears repeating- THE KICKSTARTER IS NOT TO FUND THE CREATION OR PRODUCTION OF THE GAME ITSELF. THE OM TEAM HAS VERY CLEARLY STATED THIS MULTIPLE TIMES.

The reason why "app development and production" is listed under "How your support will be used" is entirely due to the context that those terms are being used.

"Development and production" applies to literally every single aspect that is put into a game in any way. Literally everything you add to a game, from music to artwork to patches and bug fixes, counts as development and production. That's why live service mobage are "in development" for years and years at a time. Every single basic update, even 9 years after the game was released, is still "game development"

The issue that I think you (and a lot of other fans, since this is a pretty common misunderstanding) are running into is that you're erroneously reading "game development and production" as meaning "creation of the actual game itself"

And that is just simply incorrect both literally and in use of terminology. Like I said earlier, "development and production" are game design terms, and also LEGAL terms, and they have more than one meaning depending on the context in which they're used.

There's a lot of misunderstanding that the Kickstarter is saying "we're using the crowdfunded money to make the new OM game itself, from scratch, and build it from the ground up" and a lot of fans genuinely believe that the Kickstarter is funding the creation of the whole game. That's just objectively, factually untrue.

The ONLY reason "development and production" is listed on the Kickstarter is because putting additional content into the game, like cosmetic items or new music or voice acting, is still "development" in the sense that...stuff is being added to the game.

But adding bonus content and extras (that WERE NOT A PART OF THE BASE GAME AND WERE NEVER PLANNED TO BE A PART OF THE GAME ORIGINALLY) is an entirely separate practice. It's completely uninvolved from the creation of the actual game itself.

Because the new OM game was already being made for a LONG time before they even announced it back in May. They had already been working on game development for a very long time before the Kickstarter even existed.

As the OM Team themselves have clearly stated, multiple times: the crowdfunding donations are being used PURELY for bonuses, extra content, and merch, to celebrate the new game being launched.

The fact that SOME of that bonus content is in the form of digital additions to the game (like character outfits or voice acting) is why it's legally counted as "game development" - but that's the only thing that "game development" means in this context.

Because it's adding new, extra content to an existing game that has already been made. Absolutely nobody but Solmare themselves funded the creation of the new game. Exactly $0 was taken from fans to build and develop the new game. The new OM game is ENTIRELY SELF-FUNDED, WHICH THE OM TEAM HAS REPEATEDLY CONFIRMED. Adding extra/bonus content later on, after the core game has already been developed, is NOT the same thing as "funding the game" itself.

If you download a free-to-play game, and then a couple of months later the company releases optional DLC for $5, you as a player did not "fund the development" of the actual game if you buy the DLC. The DLC is extra additional content, that got added to the original game after the fact.

THAT'S what the digital game rewards for the new OM game are. They are, essentially, just DLC that will be added to the ALREADY FINISHED GAME before it releases.

NOBODY PAID TO FUND THE NEW GAME ITSELF. THE GAME WAS ALREADY FUNDED, ALREADY CREATED, AND ALREADY WELL INTO DEVELOPMENT LONG BEFORE THE KICKSTARTER EVER EXISTED. The Kickstarter rewards are EXTRAS AND BONUSES that will be added to the core game. That's literally it. You didn't pay to fund the core game. Nobody did. "Development and production" are industry terminology that apply to multiple different aspects of game creation and their definition changes depending on context.

And just for what it's worth - I'm not saying any of this with the intention of being aggressive or to start discourse! I think that people's questions and confusion are all valid, and a lot of what you say is coming from a very understandable place. I'm trying very hard to emphasize the key points that I most often see being subjected to misinformation, but it's just emphasis (and not me being argumentative or anything)

I have been bitting my tongue because I don't want to be a party popper or anything (not that It matter because this has always been a vent blog to me, not a fandom blog) but since they released new tiers that aré ridiculously expensive on Kickstarter AND we have less than two weeks for the crownfunding to end I can't anymore:

I just don't understand how succesfull this campaign currently Is when we know basically nothing about the game, I was waiting for AX for them to say anything but they decided to expand the tiers Instead of y'know... Promote what the game Is actually about...

Everything about this Is so... Vague... The goal of the Kickstarter Is to fund the new game/app... But we know basically nothing about it

[certainstarfishsandwich]

Ocudeus greedy as hell, first you have the Freaky Soup, the big ass cave system and house built in, and you occupying Ais? And I seen how big them tentacles were in the trailer and pictures.

[itsajollyjester]

There's a specific pain to hating only 25% of a drawing.

Not enough to scrap it

But so much to fix

[cadybear420]

One of my least favorite things about Choices Reddit is how half of the time someone talks about how MC is always sub/passive/bottom/fem and LI is always dom/active/top/masc it's always about how it's a problem specifically for male MC players or any non-wlm players. Yes the route was probably written with wlm in mind but this is a problem for any and all players who prefer more masc/active roles, wlms included!!! Stop acting like it isn't!!!

[myopinionisimportant]

Went to the local community radio station to have a chat about maybe possibly playing some RPGs in a studio and recording it, and (once I actually got someone to answer the door, because... community radio) they were really happy to help! Showed me around, said they were looking at expanding their podcast support, gave me a decent idea of available recording times...nothing set in stone just yet, but still, exciting!

(aaaaaah what am I even doing, am I even REMOTELY qualified for this, will it all fall in a screaming heap!?)

(no shh it will be fine)

(shhhhh)

[dragondoge]

nothing like rsd kicking in during ur class' final critique and also getting like. one good comment and then the rest is just critique and then commentary to a side ocmment you make and you already didnt like the piece you had to present. 🙃

[inkskinned]

i got rickrolled today but it didn't work because i have adblocker installed, so youtube just told me i violated the terms of service. yesterday i was trying to edit a picture as a joke for my girlfriend, and google made me check a box to prove i'm human because i wasn't "searching normally".

it isn't just that capitalism is killing fun and whimsy, it is that any element of entertainment or joy is being fed upon by this mosquito body, one that will suck you dry at any vulnerability.

do you want to meet new friends in your city? download this app, visit our website, sign up for our email list. pay for this class on making a terrarium, on candlemaking, on cooking. it will be 90 dollars a session. you can go to group fitness, but only under our specific gym membership. solve the puzzle, sign up for our puzzle-of-the-month-club. what is a club if not just a paid opportunity - you are all paying for the same thing, which makes you a community.

but you're like me, i know it - you're careful, you try the library meetings and the stuff at the local school and all of that. the problem is that you kind of want really specific opportunities that used to exist. you are so grateful for libraries and the publicly-funded things: they are, however, an exception - and everything they have, they've fought tooth-and-nail to protect. you read a headline about how in many other states, libraries have virtually nothing left.

do you want to meet up with your friends afterwards? gift your friends the discord app. you can choose to go to a cafe (buy a coffee, at least), a bar (money, alcohol) or you can all stay in and catch a movie (streaming) or you can all stay in bed (rent. don't get me started) and scream (noise complaint. ticket at least).

you want to read a new book, but the book has to have 124 buzzwords from tiktok readers that are, like, weirdly horny. you can purchase this audiobook on audible! your podcast isn't on spotify, it's on its own server, pay for a different site. fuck, at least you're supporting artists you like. the art museum just raised their ticket price. once, they had a temporary exhibit that acknowledged that ~85% of their permanent art galleries were from cis white men, and that they had thousands of works by women (even famous women, like frida! georgia o'keefe!) just rotting in their basement. that exhibit lasted for 3 months and then they put everything away again.

walmart proudly supports this strip of land by the street! here are some flowers with wilting leaves. its employees have to pay out-of-pocket for their uniforms. my friend once got fined by the city because she organized a community pick-up of the riverfront, which was technically private property.

no, you cannot afford to take that dance class, neither can i. by the way - i'm a teacher. i'm absolutely not saying "educators shouldn't be paid fairly." i'm saying that when i taught classes, renting a studio went from 20 bucks an hour to 180 in the span of 6 months. no significant changes to the studio were made, except they now list the place as updated and friendly. the heat still doesn't work in the building. i have literally never seen the landlord who ignores my emails. recently they've been renting it out at night as an "unusual nightclub; a once-in-a-lifetime close-knit party." they spent some of those 180 dollars on LEDs and called it renovating. the high heels they invite in have been ruining the marley.

do you want to experience the old internet? do you want to play flash games or get back the temporary joy of club penguin? you can, you just need to pay for it. i have a weird, neurodivergent obsession with occasionally checking in to watch the downfall and NFT-ification of neopets. if i'm honest with you all - i never got into webkins, my family didn't have the money to buy me a pointless elephant. people forget that "being poor" can mean literally "if i buy you that toy, i can't afford rent."

you and i don't have time to make good food, and we don't have the budget for it. we are not gonna be able to host dinner parties, we're not made of money, kid. do you want some kind of 3rd space? a space that isn't home or work or school? you could try being online, but - what places actually exist for you? tiktok counts as social media because you see other people on it, not because they actually talk to you.

there was a local winter tradition of sledding down the hill at my school. kids would use pizza boxes and jackets and whatever worked, howling and laughing. back in september, they made a big announcement that this time, rules were changing, and everyone must pay 10 dollars to participate. when im not scared shitless, i kind of appreciate the environmental irony - it hasn't gone below 40. so much for snow & joyriding.

i saw a bulletin for a local dogwalking group and, nervous about making a good first impression, showed up early. the first guy there grimaced at me. "sorry," he said. "there's a 30-dollar buy-in fee." i thought he was joking. wait. for what? the group doesn't offer anything except friendship and people with whom to walk around the city.

he didn't know the answer. just shrugged at me. "you know," he said. "these days, everything costs money."

[felassan]

Jason Schreier for Bloomberg reports: 'Inside the ‘Dragon Age’ Debacle That Gutted EA’s BioWare Studio'

The latest game in BioWare’s fantasy role-playing series went through ten years of development turmoil. The failure of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, released in October, led EA to gut BioWare

[note: article is below cut after these tweets]

Jason Schreier: "NEW: What went wrong with Dragon Age: The Veilguard? Why was the writing so tonally inconsistent? Why did it feel so shallow? Why were there so few choices? Really, after ten years of turbulence, it was a miracle that anything came out at all. This is the story [link]:" [source]

Jason Schreier: "The fatal flaw for Dragon Age: The Veilguard wasn't just that it pivoted from single-player to multiplayer and back again. It was that after the second pivot, the team was forced to keep going rather than hit the reset button and take the time to create a new plan." [source]

Jason Schreier re: this old tweet from Casey Hudson: "Fun fact: when I first reported at Kotaku in 2018 that Dragon Age 4 was rebooted to become a live-service game, BioWare studio head Casey Hudson wrote this on Twitter. But it was not entirely truthful. In reality, the game was being designed around cooperative multiplayer, replayable missions, etc" [source] Casey Hudson's old tweet from 2018: "Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you'll be relieved to see what the team is working on. Story & character focused. Too early to talk details, but when we talk about "live" it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story."

Rest of post/article under cut due to length.

(bold in the text below is mine for emphasis)

"In early November, on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, staffers at the video-game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in. But in the weeks that followed, the early buzz cooled as players delved deeper into the fantasy world, and some BioWare employees grew anxious. For months, everyone at the subsidiary of the video-game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. had been under intense pressure. The studio’s previous two games, Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, had flopped, and there were rumors that if Dragon Age underperformed, BioWare might become another of EA’s many casualties. Not long after Christmas, the bad news surfaced. EA announced in January that the new Dragon Age had only reached 1.5 million players, missing the company’s expectations by 50%. The holiday performance of another recently released title, EA Sports FC 2025, was also subpar, compounding the problem."

"As a result of the struggling titles, EA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson explained, the company would be significantly lowering its sales forecast for the fiscal year ahead. EA’s share price promptly plunged 18%. “Dragon Age had a high-quality launch and was well-reviewed by critics and those who played,” Wilson later said on an earnings call. “However, it did not resonate with a broad enough audience in this highly competitive market.” Days after the sales revision, EA laid off a chunk of BioWare’s staff at the studio’s headquarters in Edmonton, Canada, and permanently transferred many of the remaining workers to other divisions. For the storied, 30-year-old game maker, it was a stunning fall that left many fans wondering how things had gone so haywire — and what might come next for the stricken studio. According to interviews with nearly two dozen people who worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there were several reasons behind its failure, including marketing misfires, poor word of mouth and a 10-year gap since the previous title. Above all, sources point to the rebooting of the product from a single-player game to a multiplayer one — and then back again — a switcheroo that muddled development and inflated the title’s budget, they say, ultimately setting the stage for EA’s potentially unrealistic sales expectations. A spokesperson for EA declined to comment."

"The union between BioWare and EA started off with lofty aspirations. In 2007, EA executives announced they were acquiring BioWare and another gaming studio in a deal worth $860 million. The goal was to diversify their slate of games, which was heavy in sports titles, like Madden NFL, and light in the kind of adventure and role-playing games that BioWare was known for. Initially, it looked like a smart move thanks to a string of big hits. In 2014, BioWare released Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third installment in a popular action series dropping players in a semi-open world full of magic, elves and fire-spewing dragons. The fantasy title went on to win the much-coveted Game of the Year Award and sell 12 million copies, according to its executive producer Mark Darrah — a major validation of EA’s diversification strategy. Before long, Darrah and Mike Laidlaw, the creative director, began kicking around ideas for the next Dragon Age installment — code name: Joplin — aiming for a game that would be smaller in scope. But before much could get done, BioWare shifted the studio’s focus to more pressing titles coming down the pike. In 2017, BioWare released Mass Effect: Andromeda, the fourth installment in a big-budget action series set in space. Unlike its critically successful predecessors, the game received mediocre reviews and was widely mocked by fans. A few months after the disappointing release, the head of BioWare stepped down and was soon replaced by Microsoft Inc.’s Casey Hudson, an alumni of BioWare’s early, formative years."

"Like much of the industry, EA executives were growing increasingly enamored of so-called live-service games, such as Destiny and Overwatch, in which players continue to engage with and spend money on a title for months or even years after its initial release. With EA aiming to make a splash in the fast-growing category, BioWare poured resources into Anthem, a live-service shooter game that checked all the right boxes. One day in October 2017, Laidlaw summoned his colleagues into a conference room and pulled out a few pricey bottles of whisky. The next Dragon Age sequel, he told the room, would also be pivoting to an online, live-service game — a decision from above that he disagreed with. He was resigning from the studio. The assembled staff stayed late through the night, drinking and reminiscing about the franchise they loved. “I wish that pivot had never occurred,” Darrah would later recount on YouTube. “EA said, ‘Make this a live service.’ We said, ‘We don’t know how to do that. We should basically start the project over.’” Former art director Matt Goldman replaced Laidlaw as creative director, and with a tiny team began pushing ahead on a new multiplayer version of Dragon Age — code name: Morrison — while everyone else helped to finish Anthem, which was struggling to coalesce. Goldman pushed for a “pulpy,” more lighthearted tone than previous entries, which suited an online game but was a drastic departure from the dark, dynamic stories that fans loved in the fantasy series."

"In February 2019, BioWare released Anthem. Reviews were scathing, calling the game tedious and convoluted. Fans were similarly displeased. On social media, players demanded to know why a studio renowned for beloved stories and characters had made an online shooter with a scattershot narrative. In the wake of BioWare’s second consecutive flop, the multiplayer version of Dragon Age continued to take shape. While the previous games in the franchise had featured tactical combat, this one would be all action. Instead of quests that players would only experience once, it would be full of missions that could be replayed repeatedly with friends and strangers. Important characters couldn’t die because they had to persist for multiple players across never-ending gameplay. As the game evolved over the next two years, the failure of Anthem hovered over the studio. Were they making the same mistakes? Some BioWare employees scoffed that they were simply building “Anthem with dragons.” Throughout 2020, the pandemic disrupted the game’s already fraught development. In December, Hudson, the head of the studio, and Darrah, the head of the franchise, resigned. Shortly thereafter, Gary McKay, BioWare’s new studio head, revealed yet another shift in strategy. Moving forward, the next Dragon Age would no longer be multiplayer."

"“We were thinking, ‘Does this make sense, does this play into our strengths, or is this going to be another challenge we have to face?’” McKay later told Bloomberg News. “No, we need to get back to what we’re really great at.” In theory, the reversion back to Dragon Age’s tried-and-true, single-player format should have been welcome news inside BioWare. But there was a catch. Typically, this kind of pivot would be coupled with a reset and a period of pre-production allowing the designers to formulate a new vision for the game. Instead, the team was asked to change the game’s fundamental structure and recast the entire story on the fly, according to people familiar with the new marching orders. They were given a year and a half to finish and told to aim for as wide a market as possible. This strict deadline became a recurring problem. The development team would make decisions believing that they had less than a year to release the game, which severely limited the stories they could tell and the world they could build. Then the title would inevitably be delayed a few months, at which point they’d be stuck with those old decisions with no chance to stop and reevaluate what was working. At the end of 2022, amid continually dizzying leadership changes, the studio started distributing an “alpha” build of Dragon Age to get feedback internally and from outside playtesters. According to people familiar with the process, the reactions were concerning. The game’s biggest problem, early players agreed, was a lack of satisfying choices and consequences. Previous BioWare titles had presented players with gut-wrenching decisions. Which allies to save? Which factions to spare? Which enemies to slay? Such dilemmas made fans feel like they were shaping the narrative — historically, a big draw for many BioWare games."

"But Dragon Age’s multiplayer roots limited such choices, according to people familiar with the development. BioWare delayed the game’s release again while the team shoehorned in a few major decisions, such as which of two cities to save from a dragon attack. But because most of the parameters were already well established, the designers struggled to pair the newly retrofitted choices for players with meaningful consequences downstream. In 2023, to help finish Dragon Age, BioWare brought in a second, internal team, which was working on the next Mass Effect game. For decades there’d been tension between the two well-established camps, known for their starkly divergent ways of doing things. BioWare developers like to joke that the Dragon Age crew was like a pirate ship, meandering and sometimes traveling off course but eventually reaching the port. In contrast, the Mass Effect group was called the USS Enterprise, after the Star Trek ship, because commands were issued straight down from the top and executed zealously. As the Mass Effect directors took control, they scoffed that the Dragon Age squad had been doing a shoddy job and began excluding their leaders from pivotal meetings, according to people familiar with the internal friction. Over time, the Mass Effect team went on to overhaul parts of the game and design a number of additional scenes, including a rich, emotional finale that players loved. But even changes that appeared to improve the game stoked the simmering rancor inside BioWare, infuriating Dragon Age leaders who had been told they didn’t have the budget for such big, ambitious swings."

"“It always seemed that, when the Mass Effect team made its demands in meetings with EA regarding the resources it needed, it got its way,” said David Gaider, a former lead writer on the Dragon Age franchise who left before development of the new game started. “But Dragon Age always had to fight against headwinds.” Early testers and Mass Effect leads complained about the game’s snarky tone — a style of video-game storytelling, once ascendant, that was quickly falling out of fashion in pop culture but had been part of Goldman’s vision for the multiplayer game. Worried that Dragon Age could face the same outcome as Forspoken — a recent title that had been hammered over its impertinent banter — BioWare leaders ordered a belated rewrite of the game’s dialogue to make it sound more serious. (In the end, the resulting tonal inconsistencies would only add to the game’s poor reception with fans.) A mass layoff at BioWare and a mandate to work overtime depleted morale while a voice actors strike limited the writers’ ability to revise the dialogue and create new scenes. An initial trailer made the next Dragon Age seem more like Fortnite than a dark fantasy role-playing game, triggering concerns that EA didn’t know how to market the game. When Dragon Age: The Veilguard finally premiered on Halloween 2024 after many internal delays, some staff members thought there was a lot to like, including the game’s new combat system. But players were less impressed, and sales sputtered."

"“The reactions of the fan base are mixed, to put it gently,” said Caitie, a popular Dragon Age YouTuber. “Some, like myself, adore it for various reasons. Others feel utterly betrayed by certain design choices.” Following the layoffs and staff reassignments at BioWare earlier in the year, a small team of a few dozen employees is now working on the next Mass Effect. After three high-profile failures in a row, questions linger about EA’s commitment to the studio. In May, the company relabeled its Edmonton headquarters from a BioWare office to a hub for all EA staff in the area. Historically, BioWare has never been the most important studio at EA, which generates more than $7 billion in annual revenue largely from its sports games and shooters. Depending on the timing of its launches, BioWare typically accounts for just 5% of EA’s annual bookings, according to estimates by Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. Even so, there may be strategic reasons for EA to keep supporting BioWare. Single-player role-playing games are expensive to make but can lead to huge windfalls when successful, as demonstrated by recent hits like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3. In order to grow, EA needs more than just sports franchises, said TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz. Trying to fix its fantasy-focused studio may be easier than starting something new. “That said, if they shuttered the doors tomorrow I wouldn’t be totally surprised,” Creutz added. “It has been over a decade since they produced a hit.”"

Article by Jason Schreier. [source]

[thesimstree]

List of 1000+ CC FREE NPCs for your The Sims 4 save

We recently promised you a selection of NPCs for all occasions. If you’re interested in the method of controlling townie generation through the MC Command Center but don’t yet have your own base of 100 gorgeous sims, the huge list below is for you :)

We made great efforts to find beautiful, unique and well-crafted characters. We want these NPCs not only to enhance your game but also to inspire you with new storylines through their hobbies and appearances. Maybe one of your dynasty members will find their soulmate among them! All characters are available for free download and are in the public domain.

Authors mentioned in the article:

@alienbabygamer   @blackpanda-ts4 @fridaikala   @helloavocadooo   @ice-creamforbreakfast  MAYAsnooze  @polarmoon  nicohesdude23  Nocturne   @nunamoona  pptichka  @rutasha-sims  @simsontherope  @simkhira  soulsurrender  @the-usual-stories

Let's start with large sets of NPCs that are easy to download, add to your game and forget about the problem of generation.

NPCs, IF YOU PLEASE

Author: helloavocadooo

NO CC

Nordhaven residents makeover

Author: the-usual-stories

NO CC

June 2023 CC-Free Sim Dump

Author: ice-creamforbreakfast

NO CC

AAAHH!!! REAL TOWNIES!

Author: helloavocadooo

NO CC

32 VANILLA SIMS WITH SKILLS AND JOBS

Thai friends | Base Game & For Rent EP

Author: the-usual-stories

NO CC

Sims have skills, careers, preferences,outfits in each wardrobe category.

September 2022 Sims Dump

Author: ice-creamforbreakfast

NO CC

32 CC FREE TOWNIES

Author: polarmoon

NO CC

Townies for your game

Author: Nocturne

NO CC

From cas with all the preferences

FAMILIES

Families - Pack II

Author: simsontherope

NO CC

Сaliente + Don Lothario 

Author: FRIDAIKALA

NO CC

YUKI & CANDY BEHR MAKEOVER

Author: FRIDAIKALA

NO CC

TEEN SIMS

Teenagers NPC pack

Author: blackpanda-ts4

NO CC

All outfits

Have preferences

No skills

STUDENTS

3 Newcrest Students (Gallery search by ID)

Author: nicohesdude23

NO CC

Foxbury Institute students (NO CC & CC)

Author: NunaMoona

NO CC

OCCULT CHARACTERS

Sages for Realm of Magic

Author: simsontherope

NO CC

Faba

Author: alienbabygamer

NO CC

Werewolves from Moonwood Mill

Author: simsontherope

NO CC

ALIENS

Author: the-usual-stories 

NO CC

CAREERS

High school staff for Copperdale

Author: simsontherope

NO CC

Ranch hands (NPC)

Author: soulsurrender

NO CC

Small Business Employees

Author: the-usual-stories 

NO CC

Medical Staff

Author: the-usual-stories 

NO CC

144 Service Sims

Author: the-usual-stories 

NO CC

・Hireable Services for Your Home: Maids, Professional gardeners, Emergency repair, Grocery and food delivery, Pizza delivery, Pet shelter worker 

・Community Service Roles:Gardener, Market stall vendors, Living statue, Café barista, Bartenders

・Other Services: Firefighters, Mail carriers, Landlord in San Myshuno and Evergreen Harbor apartments, Recycler, Manufacturer, Skilled manufacturer, City maintenance, Horse trainers

・Movie Studio Staff: Producers, Camera operators, Makeup artists, Other crew members, Paparazzi 

・High School Staff

・Secondhand Shop Owner

・University Professors

・Selvadoradian Locals 

・Henford-on-Bagley Locals: Mayor, Garden and grocery shop owners, Creature keeper, Grocery and prepared food delivery

・Forest Ranger

・Strangerville Locals: Military personnel, Conspiracy theorists, Scientists Men in Black

NPC Maids

Author: alienbabygamer

NO CC

Catering and Bartenders

Author: the-usual-stories 

NO CC

GROUPS OF SIMS BASED ON INTERESTS 

Lovestruck Sim Dump

Author: Simkhira

NO CC

32 (cc-free) singles who are based on the new relationship dynamics: "wholesome", "steamy", "strained", and "unpredictable".

MENTORS - only Base Game & EP 18 (&EP4)

Author: the-usual-stories

NO CC

Sims have skills, mentor-trait, careers, bonus traits, base preferences and likes-dislikes.

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[cuntyromero]

Bought Nottingham forest membership so hopefully i can go to some games which should be fun

[ashonheavenscloud]

would you maybe be down to write headcanons abt making out with p1h 🤭

Need nothing more then to be laying in bed, lazily making out with keeho 😞

making out with p1harmony members!

warnings: none, a little suggestive but nothing explicit!

a/n: thank you so much for the request!! it was kinda fun to think about🤭 hope you enjoy <3

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

☆ keeho:

he is soooooo obsessed with kissing you that make out sessions happen almost anytime, anywhere. he knows when to read the room, but isn’t against pulling you to the side or finding a more secluded room/hallway/etc to spend a bit of time kissing you and feeling you up. what’s he supposed to do when you look so good all the damn time??

i am however a biggggggggg enthusiast of keeho loving to make out with you in the car. will make “detours” or even just ask you to drive out with him somewhere where he can park and make out with you for a while. doesn’t need to go any farther than that (although he’s not against it🫣) but will not settle for less than like. an hour of kissing you. he will complain otherwise

makeouts start out slow and full of back and forth teasing. he loves holding the back of your neck for a bit of control (again, helpful with the teasing) and sliding his other hand up and down your waist. PLEASE straddle him he will die of happiness and excitement and will need you sooooo bad

lowkey loves it when you try to take the lead but 1) will never admit it and 2) won’t let you take it so easily

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

☆ theo:

makeout sessions will most likely happen at home, just cause theo lovessssss taking him damn time with you and sees any kind of physical affection/touch as deeply intimate and personal. 90% of the time they happen in bed, either in the mornings or evenings.

will cup your face and hold you close, focusing on your lips with slow, languid, deliberate kisses that leave you out of breath and your mind completely empty. is a very very very good kisser and knows it. often smiles and whispers against your lips

favourite thing in the world is hearing you sigh into a kiss. literally lights his body on fire

most of the time these don’t escalate, or if it does, the whole thing is very soft love making. most of the time though, he’s content to bask in the moment and take you in. finds kissing you so relaxing and makes him feel at home

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

☆ jiung:

similar to theo, jiung finds kissing you makes him relax, so he would likely loveeeeeeee making out with you after long stressful days or in the studio between working on projects. pulls you onto his lap or between his legs and holds you close with both his hands either under your jaw or behind your neck.

50/50 chance on it escalating. 100% chance if you tease him in any kind of way, either by saying his name in a certain way or pulling at his hair. he loses the game very very fast and needs your skin on his IMMEDIATELY

doesn’t spend the time only on your lips, often drifting across your whole face and neck while he’s at it. talks a lot during the whole thing, cause he likes to hear your breathy responses and know he’s driving you crazy.

makeout sessions could be a couple minutes or a couple hours and there’s no telling with him until you glance at the clock and both realize he’s missed a meeting and you’re late for an appointment. whoops.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

☆ intak:

like keeho, intak wants to kiss you ALL. THE. TIME. it’s getting him to stop and focus on anything else that’s the problem

is incapable of both keeping the makeout session short and keeping it from escalating. he gets excited easily and the second your hands find his chest and you sigh against his mouth it’s so, so over. hands on your waist, body leaning over yours, caging you in. LOVES holding you against a wall or just about any surface tbh

sloppy kisses. everywhere. focuses mainly on your lips but gets distracted sometimes at your neck when he wants to hear you a little louder for him. but your lips are his kryptonite and he wouldn’t really rather be anywhere else

on the flip side, he also really enjoys when you wake him up with lazy kisses. could die of happiness

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

☆ soul:

makeouts with soul are spontaneous and giddy! usually gets the urge to kiss you the most when he’s excited or you’re being extra cute, and the kisses start all over your face before focusing entirely on your lips

and once he’s there, he’s THERE. lots of fast kisses, pulls at your lips a lot and holds your waist to keep you close to him. prefers to stand between your legs while you’re sitting in front of his, say, on a counter; OR he likes having you beneath him on the couch

teases a little but kinda can’t keep it up cause he just wants to kiss you so bad and it feels just as hard for him to maintain as it is for you to endure. but he sure does love the dazed expression and the faint voice you have when he does

doesn’t often escalate but when it does it does FAST

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

☆ jongseob:

like theo, jongseob also sees kissing you as a personal, intimate show of affection, so makeout sessions almost always happen at home. he loves coming back after a long day, holding you in his arms and kissing you slowly, smiling and relaxing into it, knowing he’s where he belongs.

loves laying between your legs, hands around your waist or under your thighs, and slowly kissing you. nibbles on your bottom lip and often trails kisses down under your jaw before heading back to your lips. often goes back and forth between kissing you and talking about his day and yours, taking all the time in the world with you.

50/50 on whether it escalates, and when it does, his grip on you gradually tightens and his kisses turn from slow to hurried and needy. is a big whiner.

murmuring against your lips with a smile… yeah.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

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[kdinjenzen]

People on social media posting that we’re experiencing a “VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY CRASH” are all fundamentally wrong.

A market crash, for any industry, is caused by a sudden and significant decline in overall market value.

The last several years, including this one, has seen a surge in not only video game popularity but also revenue and value rising basically across the board.

Literally there are more people playing and buying games now than EVER BEFORE.

So it is NOT a crash in the slightest. The games industry as a whole is making TONS of money.

The problem is that, since 2020, the amount of actual players in the game of BUSINESS for gaming has shrunk with Sony, Microsoft, Embracer, etc all buying up countless other studios then laying people off and/or closing those studios all together.

Developers of all kinds in the AAA market now have less people on their teams, less time to make games, less money paid to them, and have not been able to recover from any burnout of crunch which has only gotten worse since all these closures and layoffs.

It’s not a market crash. It’s market manipulation on the part of major corporations who don’t (and likely never) even valued the art of game development in the first place.

[sturnstars5]

like koolaid i’m finna jam it in her-chris sturniolo

chris thinks you look really good in the space camp x koolaid photoshoot, and he cant wait until you get home…

warnings: smut, unprotected p n v, mdni, slight choking maybe?, semi public sex, hate sex, fwb, suggestive language, intended lowercase

“fuck, you look amazing y/n!” is all you heard nick say repetitively over the last hour. you were not only a space camp model, but one of nicks best friends.

you had been in the studio for hours on end, posing with the lip balms, trying to get the perfect pictures. even though you were there for a long time though, nick always made it a fun place to be.

but with nick, came his brothers.

you didn’t have any problems with matt. he was sweet and kind, he was funny, and he was fun to be around. and then there was chris.

you couldnt stand chris. you hated him, actually. he was just so annoying. he was so rude all the time, always disrespectful to everyone. and he was just chris.

whenever you had photo shoots with space camp, you hoped matt was the only brother that came along. anybody but chris.

but of course, he showed up to this one.

he was watching you the whole time, his unwavering stare penetrating you like a knife. anytime you looked over to the triplets, his eyes were already on you.

you struck your last pose, hearing the camera click off and seeing the lights dim down let you know it was the end of the photoshoot.

you walked off of set, making a beeline to nick.

“you were so good y/n!” nick says, taking a drink of dr. pepper while going through the camera footage.

“thank you nick!” you say, wondering off to a table that appeared to have food on it.

you were pouring yourself a cup of water when you felt a large hand in your shoulder. you felt a presence over you that you had never felt before.

“you looked nice out there.” the person whispered.

you turn around only to see chris, your past thoughts disappearing at the sight of him.

“i know.” you say, brushing off his compliment.

“wow, not even a thank you? where’s your manners?” chris scoffs, taking a swig of pepsi while death staring you.

“maybe you should stop staring at people and mind your own manners.” you bite back, glaring at him.

“oh so you wanna play that game, huh?” chris says, placing a hand on your arm, preventing you from walking away.

you stare up at him, unable to speak. you hate him, you really do, but something about him right now is different. the veins in his hands, the piercing blue eyes, the slight stubble on his sharp jawline, it’s making you feel a different way towards him.

“i thought you said it was rude to stare.” he smirks, making you snap right back into reality.

“oh, um i-”

“follow me.” he says, placing a finger on your lips to shush you.

he leads you into nicks office room, overflowing with papers and different packages. chris clears a little spot near nicks chair and instructs you to lock the door behind you two.

he pushes you against a free wall, smashing his lips against yours. the kiss is full of passion and hate. you despise chris, but yet, you need him so badly.

his lips taste like cherry koolaid, pairing along perfectly with yours that taste like grape koolaid. his soft lips grasped for yours, desperately trying to suck you in.

you subconsciously grind your core against his growing erection, your body practically gravitating towards his.

“such a needy whore, aren’t you?” chris scolds.

“please chris, i-i need you.” you whimper desperately.

“you’ve been such a fucking brat all day, your lucky if i even lay a finger on you.”

that’s the last thing you heard before you felt the fabric of your shirt rip, the shreds of clothing flailing around the room, landing on the floor.

chris yanked down your pants next, following with his own. the tent in his boxers was near impossible to miss, but the dark wet patch in your white panties was even more noticeable.

chris slides your underwear to the side, slowly running his finger up and down your slit with as little pressure as possible. he takes extra time on your clit, creating small little circles on it.

“c-chris, please, i need more-”

he shoves his now wet fingers in your mouth, muffling the noises escaping you.

“i’ll give you more when i want to give you more, sweetheart.”

chris slowly pulls down the band of his boxers, letting his dick spring free against his stomach. his tip was bright red, throbbing with desire.

he runs the tip slowly over your entrance, mimicking his fingers with the wag he moves his dick. he continues to tease you, when you feel him thrust into you with a ton of force.

it feels like you were split in half, unable to do anything but groan from the pleasure of chris fucking you senseless.

“oh, shit chris, fuck-” you moan.

“use your words baby.” chris grunts, not slowing down his pace at all whatsoever.

“you’re just so fucking deep, i-”

chris continues fucking you against the wall, ruthlessly slamming into you at an unimaginable pace. you cant feel anything right now other than chris stretching you out mercilessly.

his tip is pecking your cervix with each thrust, and you can already feel the dull bruising begin.

chris is hitting you in just the right place, your gummy walls clenching around him like a lifeline.

“chris, im gonna-”

“you’re gonna what, sweetheart?”

“i’m gonna come!” you cry out.

you feel the tight knot in your stomach from as quickly as it releases, your sticky juices coating chris’ dick. his thrusts become more frantic as he nears his release.

you feel warm ropes of his cum coat your insides, painting your walls white.

“y’ know, you looked good as fuck out there but you look even better like this.”

“fuck you chris.”

a/n: I NEED THAT SPACE CAMP BROOOOO

dividers: @bernardsbendystraws

taglist: @chrepsi @dolliraez

[bruhstation]

“Do you know why humans often say the phrase "It’s a small world"?"

From the studio that brought you Love Train, Senja/Bruhstation presents:

🚧🚂 CASA TIDMOUTH ‘85: SUMMER PHANTASM OF THE RAILWAY 🚂🚧

Your name is Edward. Two years ago, you were thrown into the island of Sodor without your memories or your sense of self intact. The years working as a driver for the NWR 2 have shaped you into a highly reliable, amicable, and strong man of perseverance. The only thing that remains of your long forgotten past is your insatiable thirst for knowledge, and the only thing that you have obtained is a set of golden eyes that you’ve been keeping a secret from your two friends.

When terror lurks among the rails, you are thrust into a journey to send the wraith that’s been using people’s bodies for sustenance back to where he belongs, knowing full well that you might not be equipped to confront what lies beyond the fog.

Unfortunately, the people you’ve been shielding from the horrors only known to you will be caught in the crossfire. Still, you’ll do anything to keep the island safe, no?

This game features:

Fully voiced cast

Original soundtrack

Six different endings

30+ hours of gameplay

Gallery of CGs and character files

Secrets... perchance?

With the subject matter that this story brings, this visual novel is not recommended to:

Those who are sensitive to sudden sounds, flashes of light, or intense imagery

Those with health conditions such as epilepsy or heart problems

Those who are sensitive to portrayals of possession, dereality, bullying, and ableism

Those who actively seek momentary happiness in an otherwise bleak world 

Those who take pleasure in destroying themselves and their loved ones

Those who are elitist about a specific season or media of a certain talking train franchise 

Wishlist on steam | itch.io link

Development log:

I’m sorry.

[felassan]

Some follow up posts following the recent Bloomberg [article]. Rest of post under cut due to length.

Jason Schreier: "One element of the Dragon Age story that I want to emphasize: If the team had known in 2021 (after the single-player pivot) that they'd ship in Oct 2024, it'd be a much different game. Instead they were always under the impression they had to finish in 6-12 months, which led to all sorts of problems. This happened with Suicide Squad, too, and countless other games that seemed to be in development for years but in reality were just delayed half a dozen times, offering the team little opportunity to plan or make smart long-term decisions" [source, two]

Jason Schreier re: this Reddit post which is titled 'To the DA devs after that Bloomberg article': "I suspected that hearing the whole story behind Dragon Age: The Veilguard's tumultuous development would lead to a lot of fans expressing empathy for the people in the trenches [link]" [source]

Blair Thorburn: "the worst part is that those issues were called out almost immediately, and the choice was made to push on. this strategy backed the team into an impossible situation from the start, and it was a miracle we shipped at all, nevermind shipping at the quality we did. our narrative team were heroes." [source]

Jo Berry: "Having seen the circumstances under which they were trying to create... I mean, I only came in right at the end and it was still -- holy shit." [source]

Brian J. Audette, rt'ing the article: "Reposting without comment except: I refute that we made a bad or compromised game. We made the best version of what we released, warts and all. I'm damn proud of it and the team. We couldn't have made a _better_ Dragon Age, only a _different_ one." [source] "Still the best reviewed game I ever worked on in a 25+ year career." [source]

John Epler: "my career up to this point has been largely motivated by spite and the good news is it seems I am in no danger of running out" [source]

John Epler: "still the truest thing I've ever posted" [source] John Epler [prior post]: "sorry one last DA thing, i just want to say, once again, that the team did some incredibly herculean shit to get this game done. they deserve all the kudos and credit in the world. i've never seen people work so hard or care so much. grateful to know them all." [source]

Also:

User: "I guess my big question is why did the game get an 83 on metacritic with all these problems." Jason Schreier: "Sometimes reviewers just don't align with general reception. Fallout New Vegas got an 84 while Fallout 4 got an 87" [source]

User: "Christ. Second major BioWare game in a row to inspire an investigative "what the hell went wrong?" piece from Schreier." Jason Schreier: "third" [source]

A user queried the part of the article that stated the Mass Effect team overhauling DA:TV's ending, mentioning that this seems unfair to say.

Jason Schreier: "Well, the ME team steered it and, most importantly, got the resources to make it happen. But I see your point and obviously in game dev, credit is always a funky thing." [source]

Following the Suicide Squad post above:

User: "the difference being that suicide squad's live service push was determined by studio leadership, whereas the dragon age decisions came from outside bioware right?" Jason Schreier: "I don't think it's quite that simple. If you run a studio owned by a company whose execs are coming in with powerpoint presentations about how live-service is the future, it might be "your choice" what kind of game to pitch but what's really going to secure you a budget?" [source]

[2-shots2-thehead]

- I don’t see what anyone can see in anyone else.. But you -

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Summary : Dating Spencer headcanons bc I luv him n wanted to write smth smosh related >-<

Pairing : Spencer Agnew (Smosh) x GN!Reader (Use of Y/n)

Warnings : suggestive joke, other than that pretty much just fluff

A/N : the spencer brainrot is real oml 🙏🙏 im so fruity

- oh my god

- it took this man SO LONG. to ask you out

- like im talking working together for YEARS

- but once he finally did, it came off as like the most casual thing ever

- even if he was psyching himself up for this for MONTHS

- “hey, y/n, maybe after we’re done filming y’wanna grab lunch? like..as a date.?”

- he only started showing his nerves once you actually said yes

- he looked visibly surprised and then just nodded shyly without another word and walked off

- ever since that little interaction, you guys were together

- constantly.

- never seen without the other.

- “where’s y/n?” “well, i just saw spencer in the games studio so probably there”

- pretty much every single social media post since when you started dating has been about you

- CATS.

- you guys have at LEAST one cat

- you cannot convince me otherwise

- but hopefully more because you can never have too many, right ?

- always just bringing you random shit to work

- we’ve all seen the smosh mouth TNTL where spencer just keeps pulling random drinks out from under the table ?

- there’s just always little treats like that at your desk where you occasionally edit

- more often than not they’re drinks he grabs from the gas station, along with a kickstart for himself, of course

- just how you two are always inseparable, it increases by about 10 billion percent at parties

- i mean, let’s be real, there’s never a day where he’s at a party and wouldn’t rather be home playing a video game with your cats

- if he doesn’t know anyone else at the party, your hand is in his the entire time and he’s talking your ear off

- speaking of which, hand holding.

- so. much. handholding.

- like he wouldn’t be big on pda, but it’s just the little things like that

- him carrying you for many a TNTL bit

- or just putting your head on his shoulder while he’s streaming (we all know what i’m talking about)

- aside from the little surprise drinks, there are more often than not little sticky note messages on your desk

- especially at times where you’re editing and he’s filming and that means you’re apart for however maybe hours

- on days like that, he’s making it everyone’s problem

- “yeah, so then we-“ “y’know, this would be fun with y/n”

- yet another person who uses horrible pickup lines as a joke

- sometimes the sticky notes are the most poetic, sweet, romantic thing you’ve ever read

- ..and sometimes it’s “are you a beaver ? because DAM”

- “are you my laptop ? because you’re really hot and i’m a little bit concerned”

- “my favorite pokémon’s beedrill because i’m gonna bee-drillin’ y-“

- you guys build lego sets together all the time

- sometimes they’re little roses

- sometimes it’s the millennium falcon

- but his personal favorite is the hedgehog picnic date ⬇️⬇️⬇️

- they are now sat atop a very high, fancy shelf in your shared apartment

- you guys watch movies n shows together all the time

- you have a specific show though that you always and only watch together

- “you didn’t watch it without me, right” “don’t worry, I turned it off when you fell asleep”

- you guys play video games together all the time

- maybe you’re not as good as him, but he’s always open to teaching

- you guys practice instruments together if you play

- if not, he just plays guitar for you

- never too loud, but you can hear it of course

- he picks special songs he thinks you’ll like and learns them