Who's getting the x-mas pack?

[Motoki]

Strange. I don't have much custom content. None really, other than walls, floors, and terrains. Maybe a few objects, keyword few. And some hacks from this place, but no custom food.

It could be something else, I just suspected custom foods since I had them. Hell it could be one of Pescado's hacks for all I know.

All I know is, when I removed my downloads folder it worked and when I had it in it didn't.

[Baa]

Hmm.. Removed your downloads folder?

Would it work if I just disabled custom content with that option that came with NL?

[Motoki]

I have no idea, I never tried that. I always just grab the downloads directory and move it to the desktop. I don't trust the stuff if it's still sitting in there not to somehow still cause problems.

[Katze]

I had Santa coming and did his Ho Ho Ho, then he left and no coal or present. I baked the cookies do they need to be in the same room as the christmas tree? He did't go to the kitchen to get some they where there, he just left.

[Hairfish]

...and noticed there were three GIANT elf hats with silly ears attached to them. Pretty funny, didn't know the game came with those.

I've looked all over for those and can't find them! Didn't know about the ears...ew. Two are shown on the "packaging" the CD came in, but they don't appear to have made it into my game. Santa's hair/hat are there, as is the female (Mrs. Claus, I guess) version, so it's not a thumbnail problem.

 

[Kitiara]

First thing was to get rid of that ugly hair of his. The poof drove me nuts. I gave him a faghawk, and noticed there were three GIANT elf hats with silly ears attached to them. Pretty funny, didn't know the game came with those.

Not trying to be overly picky, but could you possibly call that a fauxhawk instead?

[Ness]

I finally got the holiday pack working...  love the new trees!  (in the garden section) - there's even a cactus decorated for christmas...  so far it's about the only thing that comes close to resembling an australian christmas!

[vector]

...and noticed there were three GIANT elf hats with silly ears attached to them. Pretty funny, didn't know the game came with those.

I've looked all over for those and can't find them! Didn't know about the ears...ew. Two are shown on the "packaging" the CD came in, but they don't appear to have made it into my game. Santa's hair/hat are there, as is the female (Mrs. Claus, I guess) version, so it's not a thumbnail problem.

 

They came up as an option for Angela Pleasant when I wanted her to wear a Santa hat.

I'm not liking this age and sexual discrimination, you know. Why shouldn't a teenaged girl be able to wear a santa hat? Why shouldn't a toddler? Wtf?

[Bangelnuts]

...and noticed there were three GIANT elf hats with silly ears attached to them. Pretty funny, didn't know the game came with those.

I've looked all over for those and can't find them! Didn't know about the ears...ew. Two are shown on the "packaging" the CD came in, but they don't appear to have made it into my game. Santa's hair/hat are there, as is the female (Mrs. Claus, I guess) version, so it's not a thumbnail problem.

 

They came up as an option for Angela Pleasant when I wanted her to wear a Santa hat.

I'm not liking this age and sexual discrimination, you know. Why shouldn't a teenaged girl be able to wear a santa hat? Why shouldn't a toddler? Wtf?

Idid try the cookies and my sim was able to make them with no issues havent tried the clothes yet

[Sagana]

so they added a new slot for toddler clothes (formal) in this dang holiday pack bulls___t??

arghh...

is there some way to get that kind of base game change into my game without actually spending money on the stupid thing? (or going to a lot of trouble to find the whole pack available for download) *that* kind of thing is going to be a serious hassle for custom content. It was a big enough hassle that they added YA to an EP as it was. What will happen if I download custom clothes that the creator has tagged "formal"? Will they just not show up? Will they appear in the standard toddler slot?

For objects, if the creators clone them so they come up as custom content, they're downloadable... recolors will be missing the mesh of course, but I don't really want a recolored Christmas tree anyways :p

I HATE this shopping pack crap. I'm not spending $20 once a month on this game for a bunch of junk I don't want just so I can keep up with base game changes - and adding clothing slots IS a base game change. There's nothing listed in the pack that I want at all. It all sounds like a bunch of junk. but they're messing with THE most used custom content deal out there - clothing, and I download lots of clothes. In particular toddler clothes. I don't wanna not be able to use something cuz it's set-up requiring a damned "bonus" frigging pack.

<very annoyed>

[Motoki]

I have no idea what is causing the cookie issue. I'm not getting any errors in debug mode and I'm not really in the mood to take everything out one by one so I guess my santa will just have to shit coal. I think my sims will get over it if they don't get a 45 simolean teddy bear for Christmas.

[Bangelnuts]

so they added a new slot for toddler clothes (formal) in this dang holiday pack bulls___t??

arghh...

is I HATE this shopping pack crap. I'm not spending $20 once a month on this game for a bunch of junk I don't want just so I can keep up with base game changes - and adding clothing slots IS a base game change. There's nothing listed in the pack that I want at all. It all sounds like a bunch of junk. but they're messing with THE most used custom content deal out there - clothing, and I download lots of clothes. In particular toddler clothes. I don't wanna not be able to use something cuz it's set-up requiring a damned "bonus" frigging pack.

<very annoyed>

I will buy the shopping pack if it contains what they are saying new hair do's and faces in addition to  clothes. etc

[Motoki]

re: toddler formal slot

The holiday pack only comes with one pathetic "formal" toddler outfit, a Miss America style tape across the chest I guess to dress them up as a new year's baby. You can't plan their formal with the changing table. Even if it had that ability, there's only one formal outfit in existence so you still couldn't. The formal slot for toddlers doesn't show up in the bodyshop either so good luck making new custom formal outfits. You also cannot change them into formal with the changing table even if you use a hack or cheat to plan their one formal outfit.

It seems like a rather pathetic afterthought and my guess is it will be included in the next expansion pack as well as an update to the bodyshop. At least we can hope. At any rate, DO NOT buy the damned pack just for the toddler formal slot because you will be sorely dissapointed.

[veilchen]

so they added a new slot for toddler clothes (formal) in this dang holiday pack bulls___t??
arghh...
is there some way to get that kind of base game change into my game without actually spending money on the stupid thing? (or going to a lot of trouble to find the whole pack available for download) *that* kind of thing is going to be a serious hassle for custom content. It was a big enough hassle that they added YA to an EP as it was. What will happen if I download custom clothes that the creator has tagged "formal"? Will they just not show up? Will they appear in the standard toddler slot?


I HATE this shopping pack crap. I'm not spending $20 once a month on this game for a bunch of junk I don't want just so I can keep up with base game changes - and adding clothing slots IS a base game change. There's nothing listed in the pack that I want at all. It all sounds like a bunch of junk.

<very annoyed>

Oh is that how it is? I didn't even give the holiday pack more than a glance because they have nothing to offer that I want in the game, but changing the core like that is a nasty move. It ensures that one way or another everyone will have to buy their add-ons, even if the majority of the content is pure and utter rubbish.

You know what? I've had it with ea/maxis. I'm barely over the patch issue/snit, and they turn around and throw another bit of corporate greed at me. I will not buy anything else that they have to offer, custom content be damned. I have enough stuff to play right now, and I will just have to weed things out that are based on the add-ons. The way I am feeling right now, they can also stuff their new ep's where the sun don't shine, I have had enough of being exploited by ea/maxis.

What they have done, in a nutshell, is add a paysite to their inventory without actually calling it a paysite. They thrown a monkey wrench into all their custom content creators works, just so they can reap the benefits of bilking their customers out of $15 - $20 a month on a regular basis. Screw them, I've had enough, and I'm getting off this insane merry-go-round. /end rant (for now) 

Edit: We seem to have cross posted Motoki, I didn't even get the 'warning' flag . Thanks for the clarification, but I'm still very annoyed.

[Bangelnuts]

soWhat they have done, in a nutshell, is add a paysite to their inventory without actually calling it a paysite. They thrown a monkey wrench into all their custom content creators works, just so they can reap the benefits of bilking their customers out of $15 - $20 a month on a regular basis. Screw them, I've had enough, and I'm getting off this insane merry-go-round. /end rant (for now) 

I think Maxis needs to rethink this Idea as many loyal customers will quit buying their products altogether  if this greed Idea continues

[Motoki]

Veilchen: Exactly. Think of it as an EA "donation pack".

I mentioned this in the chat room, but I know a lot of people weren't in there. The value on these packs compared to a full game or an episode sucks. Basically, you are paying almost 1/3 of the price of the full game and 1/2 of the price of an expansion, but you are getting nowhere near 1/3 of the content of the full game or 1/2 of the content of an expansion.

The profit margin on these packs is much higher than a game or expansion and the turn around time much smaller. Because they're such small packs they can probably get away without patching them too. You can expect a lot more of these packs in the future because of this. I honestly think they got the idea from the paysites too. All of you who think it's acceptable to pay for 3rd party content this is what you get. I've never seen another gaming community so ready and willing to throw so much money at downloads for a game. Not just the game itself, or an expansion pack or a monthly online fee, but just downloads for it.

In the Morrowind community people were outraged when a gaming mag in Europe put several Morrowind mods on a free CD that came with the magazine because you had to pay for the magazine. The kind of money exchanging that goes on here is unthinkable and unacceptable in that community. I worked on what I dare say was one of the most popular Morrowind mods and one that IMO made the most difference at least in terms of visuals. We spent many months working on that mod too. But we never thought of charging for it. It never even entered our minds. It's supposed to be a hobby and fun and even when we do tedious work on mods it's ultimately so we can enjoy the game more and have more fun with it.

In this community there are even places that charge a per item fee. There's an even higher profit margin in that so I am sure EA will catch on to that sooner or later.  

I think you are absolutely right to be disgusted Veilchen and I am too. But ultimately where there's a demand there will be a supply and until we all collectively just say no, they will keep taking our money.  

[Sagana]

At any rate, DO NOT buy the damned pack just for the toddler formal slot because you will be sorely dissapointed.

Oh I definately *won't do*. I agree with Veilchen. I'm right on the verge of just saying forget it, I won't play the game anymore, or at least will just stick with what I've got. I'm planning on getting the movies around the holidays. I'll just see how addictive that one is.

My understanding from reading other (probably wrong, I admit) posts is that the toddler formal slot is in bodyshop. Dunno how you're supposed to change the kids, but I imagine they'll find some way if it's included. The Business EP sounds fun to me, but I dunno about including changes in toddler clothing in that - seems kinda odd. If they do, well I can wait til that comes out and see... but the shopping packs really need to not include base game changes, if they want to keep at least the me part of the customer base.

They'll have to go a far ways with something I actually want before I'd consider buying them and even then I'll think a lot about it. EPs didn't cost almost as much as the game when they first game out either. Halfway again as much for a shopping pack (which will slowly increase) is pushing it way far. The money spent : replay value ratio is getting skewed and I'm not made of money.

[Motoki]

My understanding from reading other (probably wrong, I admit) posts is that the toddler formal slot is in bodyshop.

It isn't, I just checked.

I actually do know how to make more toddler formal outfits via manually changing flag settings around in SimPE, but I'm not going to do it because it will just encourage others to do it and make people who otherwise don't want the holiday pack feel compelled to waste their money on it.

[Emma]

My toddlers live in their pj's anyway 

[Sagana]

Motoki, I forgot to say thanks for the info. I was too busy being mad at Maxis, sorry.

Thanks for the info! and for checking again on the bodyshop issue I feel slightly better now... but just a little. I'm still mad about the whole idea.

and sorry MTS2 but you are now a WAY over-moderated (primarily on the sister chat site). They won't even let people complain about the bonus pack idea and pull the threads when they do under the claim of "Maxis bashing"  When did that site become an official site satellite? They're getting a lot of misinformation because they're not allowing free exchange conversation.

[veilchen]

Motoki, I wouldn't put it past them to offer an 'exclusive' item for pay. They more or less  have done that with the butt-ugly car and the pre-order. It didn't bother them in the least that quite a few countries are not utterly consumed with corporate greed and don't offer pre-paids or pre-orders. Some simply don't want the logistics mess on their hands, so they don't offer the pre-order either. So all these people missed out on an item that they might have been willing to get via pre-order, but were unable to. They are trying to squeeze as much money as they can out of their customers, and I truly hope that this nasty habit will backfire big time on them. Not highly likely, but one can hope.

I can't wait for next spring when Morrowind releases its newest game, and I also like the Zelda (GC) games. Both have been pushed back in release, but that's fine with me. I actually like it when companies are not rushing their product out in order to test and re-test as much as they can.

Sagana, I will do the same thing. I'll go out today and search for the 'movie' game, maybe I'll even get some early Christmas shopping done . By the way, nothing that happens in the MTS2 forums surprises me. I have been there maybe twice, and I've been a member there since Octoberish 2004, when they first started. I stick to the creator part of the site, and there I only check on the ones I like and trust, such as Dizzy2, Besen, Shaklin (she's not there anymore though, but has her own site. She does offer english translations too ) and the like.

[Baa]

The funny elf hats are an option in Change Appearance from the mirror.

Click Hair, and select the Asterik sign. You'll find your custom hair, and strange dyed hairs that Maxis created, along with hats and things that aren't "natural" colors.

[Baa]

Also, I see a lot of you are upset. You have every right to be upset and disappointed with your product. (Legally purchased or not  )

I was a bit disappointed with the pack too, but this just makes me interested in the next pack. It makes me think "Will the next booster pack suck as much as this one? Or will Maxis really listen to the fans and give them more meaningful things?"

Hopefully the next pack isn't something stupid like Asian themed decor. Something we all could use like more hairstyles and clothes. And maybe clothes that aren't so damn flashy and ugly like the ones that came with NL.

[Bangelnuts]

Also, I see a lot of you are upset. You have every right to be upset and disappointed with your product. (Legally purchased or not  )

I was a bit disappointed with the pack too, but this just makes me interested in the next pack. It makes me think "Will the next booster pack suck as much as this one? Or will Maxis really listen to the fans and give them more meaningful things?"

Hopefully the next pack isn't something stupid like Asian themed decor. Something we all could use like more hairstyles and clothes. And maybe clothes that aren't so damn flashy and ugly like the ones that came with NL.

I hope your'e right about the next one

[veilchen]

Or will Maxis really listen to the fans and give them more meaningful things?"

Surely you jest, funny kingdom . But seriously speaking, I wish you were right Kingdom. I do enjoy the game, but they are taking the fun right out of it for me with their insatiable greed.

I my opinion, ea/maxis will go on with what they are doing unless they get hit where it hurts them the most - their wallets. The practice of punishing their loyal customers and bilking everyone as much as they can has not hurt them yet, so I'm not holding my breath.