The Sims Medieval will be my first Sims title!

[xSamhainx]

Wow, this looks really fun, our jaws are dropping at how cool this looks! -

The Sims Townhall 2010: The Sims Medieval PART 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY4p0H6rSqE)

The Sims Townhall 2010: The Sims Medieval PART 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4R0wI2ratE&feature=fvw)

The Sims Townhall 2010: The Sims Medieval PART 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjTdKOkUsvw&feature=channel)

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I'd like to know how it is.

And - would it fit into the RPGWatch News section ?

[wolfgrimdark]

I haven't played a SIMS game in ages (think the last one was one where you evolve a planet so way before the people ones). But plan on trying this one out after I saw a news release on it awhile back.

I will leave its status up to the rest of you (i.e. is it RPGNews or not). I just know I love the idea of a Medieval SIM with quests, castle/kingdom building and other cool stuff. But then I am a sucker for a lot of fantasy based stuffed and running my own kingdom sounds like fun.

[xSamhainx]

We both pre-ordered it.

There's quite a few vids on Youtube, theyre all loaded w/ awesome. I like the fact that every building that you make creates a new character, and you can have them all working towards a specific quest, in different ways. Looks like a major timesink =\

[skavenhorde]

I'm a Sims fan (not hardcore, but I do like to play them every now and then) and this just looks awesome. A marriage between The Sims and RPGs seems like a no brainer. They were going to do something with The Lord of the Rings with The Sims, but that died. It must have been tougher to do than they thought.

If you guys want I can start posting news on this. I've only held back because it is a "Sims" type game and you know how people react to that ;)

[xSamhainx]

It looks like a role-playing game to me, far moreso in fact than a lot of action-rpg titles that are slapped w/ the RPG title without a second thought….

It'll definitely help fill in the gaps left by the kinda-disappointment that was Majesty II. It was an okay game, but very light on the sim side. Stronghold and stronghold II have some sim elements, but it's just scratching the surface. We've needed a good medieval/ fantasy sim, and this just may scratch that particular itch. finally.

[zadokAllen]

and you know how people react to that

...^%$#h...SimCity was king... &^%$* :P

Seriously thou, I`m getting sim-curious. There might be some cool gameplay... I just don`t think I like this graphics too much.

I had the misfortune of playing The Urbz on DS recently, first since SimAnt or something. I started even getting into it, but couldn`t stomach the overall "URBZ" vibe...it was godawful.

Perhaps this will fare better.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Personally, I see in the medieval SIMs the future. Of role-playing. At least in parts.

The question is : Who will pick it up ? And make a proper role-playing game out of it ?

I doubt it will be EA or Bioware, because their "proper RPGs" go into completely different direction right now … away from that what the SIMs represents …

[Couchpotato]

My interest in this game is low. Never cared for or played a sims title. I played simcity up to number 4 and that's it. Just pleases don't call this game an rpg.

[wolfgrimdark]

It looks like a role-playing game to me, far moreso in fact than a lot of action-rpg titles that are slapped w/ the RPG title without a second thought….

It'll definitely help fill in the gaps left by the kinda-disappointment that was Majesty II. It was an okay game, but very light on the sim side. Stronghold and stronghold II have some sim elements, but it's just scratching the surface. We've needed a good medieval/ fantasy sim, and this just may scratch that particular itch. finally.

I felt the same way about Majesty and never finished it. Stronghold ... if I recall right it was magic-free so I wasn't as interested in a purely mundane medieval SIMS world.

I like the whole idea of the mix of characters, quests, kingdom building and the like that was outlined for this game.

From the FAQ: The Sims Medieval lets you experience the medieval era with Sims you create and control: kings, queens, knights, wizards, spies, blacksmiths, merchants, bards and many more. You will create heroes, choose quests, build your kingdom, and create epic tales full of drama, romance, conflict and comedy.

* The Sims Medieval offers Achievements to reward you for your skill in reaching your ambitions and completing your Quests.
* The Sims Medieval allows you to play every Hero Sim in your kingdom, not just the Sims in one household.
* There is a magic system, and your wizard will learn a variety of powerful spells.
* There is a crafting system, allowing your blacksmith to forge weapons of varying quality and physician to create cures for a variety of ailments.
* There is a diplomatic system, allowing you to negotiate trade and declare war on surrounding kingdom.
* The objects your Sims will interact with rangefrom profession-oriented objects like the Blacksmith's forge and anvil and the Physician’s operating table to medieval food-preparation objects such as a roasting spit and cook-pot hanging over a fire.
* The buildings are custom-crafted for each profession, from the Monarch’s Great Hall in the castle to the Tavern for the Bard to the Wizard’s Tower.
* The art style is painterly, with a hand-crafted look to befit the medieval setting.
* And yes, there is fishing.


More: http://www.ea.com/the-sims-medieval/1/faqs

[figment]

I will say that I'm unexpectedly interested in this and agree that this is probably more RPG than some others released last year (I'm looking at you RPGWatch Gamer's Choice 2010 Runner up ). I have no illusion that it will be total casual gaming which is ok from time to time but not really that compelling to me.

I truly hope there is some difficulty involved or some consequences for actions. The fact that there is a diplomatic system is intriguing and gives me hope that there may be some depth to the game or at least can be modded in.

[JDR13]

*Pfft*….:rolleyes:


You'll be playing Pokemon next. ;)

[zakhal]

Looks interesting so i preordered the limited edition for 36€. Were the guild games somthing like this? Never played either the guild games or these social sims.

I wonder how they actually did kingdom expansion in this. Couldnt find any pictures of how you actually wage war. The only thing in the pics is the map table.

[DArtagnan]

Looks cute, but it doesn't really seem like a game to me. More like a fantasy dollhouse ;)

[Alrik Fassbauer]

It has much, much more emphasis on social aspects of role-playing than other "role-playing games" do, that's how I perceive it.

It is one of the gmes here the philosophy of "I fight, therefore I play a role" just doesn't apply.

If this becomes a success, then be warned : RPG gaming forums will be overflowing with lovers of this game demanding much more of this kind of gameplay in "regular RPGs" !

Me, I'd like it. Personally, I was never keen on this "playing a role = doing nothing but combat" concept.

Action-RPGs are the peak of this concept - now I believe it's time to let the pendulum swing into the other direction ...

[wolfing]

My interest in this game is low. Never cared for or played a sims title. I played simcity up to number 4 and that's it. Just pleases don't call this game an rpg.

Why not? I read the description, FAQ and videos, and it totally qualifies as an RPG to me, in fact, more than most 'RPGs' made in the last 10 years.

[xSamhainx]

It has much, much more emphasis on social aspects of role-playing than other "role-playing games" do, that's how I perceive it.

It is one of the gmes here the philosophy of "I fight, therefore I play a role" just doesn't apply.

If this becomes a success, then be warned : RPG gaming forums will be overflowing with lovers of this game demanding much more of this kind of gameplay in "regular RPGs" !

Me, I'd like it. Personally, I was never keen on this "playing a role = doing nothing but combat" concept.

Action-RPGs are the peak of this concept - now I believe it's time to let the pendulum swing into the other direction …

I rarely "quote for truth", but you really hit the nail on the head there my friend. Every new game that comes out boils down to the same thing, and it's becoming such a turn off. Fight to get more powerful so that you can… fight to get more powerful? A mediocre story wrapped around a leveling mechanic.

This game has fighting, leveling, and questing. It has character classes, casting spells, and crafting. Only this time, there's emphasis on the "big picture" of your kingdom and the individual lives of your host of characters. I dont see how adding more is a bad thing, this is the change that I as a bored and jaded gamer have been looking for.

I hope. Sure, it's all good on paper and who knows how it's going to actually play out, I just hope it does.

[DArtagnan]

I'll wait until release, but let's just say that EA PR guys don't do much to convince.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Fight to get more powerful so that you can… fight to get more powerful?

Yes, it's illogical in itself.

To beat the end boss. Or/and to become a god.

Therefore I once developed the theory for me that most RPGs are kind of an interactive … way of growing into manhood.

Thousands of years ago, apes grew up until hey were big, finally challenge the group's chief, and beat him, and then the newcomer got all the girls.

Deers work in a similar pattern.

That's in priciple all that happens in RPGs, only the group' chief is replaced by some kind of … baddie …

But still, the result is the same : Manhood is reached by defeating the biggest boss available throughout many miles, hundreds of miles, thousands of miles … worlds … dimensions … Or even become a god yourself. Total power. bsolute power. And you always get the girls. And carry the enemy's skull on a chain around your neck, if possible …


And now - how do women actually play RPGs ? Growing into womanhood ?

[bloodlover]

lol and this will be called RPG by some people ? No wonder they called Borderlands RPG too...

[human_male]

I've been interested in this since I heard about it. I've often been tempted to play a Sims game, I like the idea of creating and customising a character but what puts me off is... what then? What do you do? This seems to have given you something to do. I I like medieval settings. But I'd like to know more about quests. In the movie it seemed to be quite linear... do this, then do that. Is there a sort of free roam mode where you can head off into the wilderness and hunt a troll or something?

What sort of system does it need? It looks like it will need something quite grunty. I probably won't be able to run it.

Pitty. I would be a benevolent ruler... at first.

[human_male]

Would anyone happen to know more about character interaction. When you talk to someone there doesn't seem to be actual dialog, there's this weird other language. How deep are the interactions? Can you develope friendships and romances with people, get married and stuff?

[Maylander]

Well I haven't played any The Sims game in years, but usually there are no conversations:
- The characters simply "chat" in their gibberish language.
- If you want two people to hit it off you have to make sure they like each other by doing things the other person likes.
- Eventually they can get married and have kids. If you never do this, the game will end as the initial character you created dies somehow (old age, starvation, etc). Otherwise you will be able to control the character your main character married, their kids, and so on and so forth.

Things might've changed since I last played The Sims though (which was vanilla The Sims 2 I think).

[wolfing]

Would anyone happen to know more about character interaction. When you talk to someone there doesn't seem to be actual dialog, there's this weird other language. How deep are the interactions? Can you develope friendships and romances with people, get married and stuff?

the gibberish language is staple of The Sims. Basically, you talk by 'emotions'. Instead of 3 lines of easily forgotten text or some stupid voice-over, you just see a '@##$#$!' above the NPC head which means he's pissed off. I like it.

[DeepO]

Sounds a bit like a simplified fantasy version of Europe 1400: The Guild (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_1400).

[Couchpotato]

Sounds a bit like a simplified fantasy version of Europe 1400: The Guild (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_1400).

Yeah and we know how that series turned out. I will take real dialog than just watching gibberish on screen. There just making the same game but trying to get some of the rpg crowd to buy it.

[wolfgrimdark]

Like a couple said - I have grown a bit weary about the combat heavy focus on most RPG games these days (and MMO and FPS and more). I am looking forward to something a little broader in the SIMS, if only a change of pace.

Really, to me, it just looks like goofy fun to play around with.

[tolknaz]

The last Maxis game i played and liked was SimCity 2000. Never got into later SimCities and never tried any Sims games.

[xSamhainx]

Another interview @ Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/thesimsmedieval/news.html?sid=6297455&mode=previews&tag=topslot;thumb;5) w/ Rachel Bernstein on the game, some good Q&A here:

GameSpot: We understand that life in The Sims: Medieval is a bit more dangerous than in the suburbs of Sunset Valley (where one of the deadliest hazards is a burning kitchen). What's the leading cause of death for sims in the medieval era?

Rachel Bernstein: Sword wounds to the gut. Hands down.

GS: On that note, can we expect to see some of the hazards that Sims players know and love rear their ugly heads in Medieval? Will that tiny contingent of sadistic Sims players who enjoy purposely killing their little computer people (surely, there are very, very few of these sick, sick people out there) still be able to sabotage little virtual lives? Accidental blacksmith fires? Embarking a ship to sea and immediately deleting the docks afterward?

RB: Our more deviant players should find no shortage of ways to harm their sims, despite the lack of pool ladders. I expect people will enjoy such grief as sending sims off to hunt bears with low focus, placing a keg in the throne room and adding a touch of "reaper's scythe" poison, or sending a plague-ridden sim into the reception hall on a make-out spree.

GS: Aside from shuffling off this mortal coil, what other slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune can befall sims in this time period? We've seen imprisonment in the stocks and sentencing to the pit beast. How about the bubonic plague? Being tried and burned at the stake as a witch?

RB: Plagues and poisons (and other hazards that we'll get to) abound.

GS: What other external forces pose a threat to sims in the medieval era? Will floods or droughts affect crops, for instance? Will we see fearsome storms? Bandits on the outlying roads? Vorpal bunnies that are "dynamite?"

In this image, we have the grim reaper and…Great Caesar's ghost! Oh wait, that isn't Caesar.

RB: Just to mention a few…bandits, bears, boars, duels, dragons, dire chinchillas, famine, drunkards, enraged golems, black knights, angry zealots, doppelgangers, inquisitors, curses, goblins, plague, revolting peasants, witches, and whales. In addition, if you're a peasant, you might get sold to the nation of Crafthole.

GS: Let's talk larger-scale threats. We understand, for instance, that you can choose to play as the ruler of a realm and engage in diplomacy and trade with your neighbors. What happens when kings and queens stop being polite and start being really angry with each other? How can rival nations compete with each other? Can they go to war, and if so, how will war unfold?

RB: Each neighboring nation has a specific way that you go about taking it over. Some may require political finesse, some straight-out conflict, some a carefully planned marriage. You influence the outcome of conflict in a variety of ways that unfold through the quest system. Everything is kept on the level of individual sims. For example, your knight might train up some new soldiers whom you send off to fight, or your blacksmith might make new weapons and armor and send it off to the front lines. GS: We know that Medieval is a different game from its predecessors, since the game has actual victory conditions and actually ends at a certain point. Is it possible to fail? Will there be a losing "Game Over" screen?

RB: There is no "Game Over" screen, but there's certainly a "Quest Failed!" screen that can be reached if your sim somehow dies on a quest or fails to complete it in a timely or effective fashion. We don't want the players feeling like it's easy to fail in the game, but we do want there to be consequences for the player's actions.

There is also the possibility of failure on an overarching ambition for each run-through of the game and the possibility of succeeding at the ambition at different levels of achievement: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. For example, if players run a kingdom in the "imperial domination" ambition and fail to take over any foreign nation, they will fail the ambition when they run out of quest points. If they take over only two territories, they get a bronze. Taking over four earns them a silver and unlocks the "fame" ambition. Taking over six foreign territories earns a gold medal and adds the unlock of the "safe and sound" ambition. Taking over all the foreign territories earns the platinum medal.

Are you a bad enough monarch to unlock platinum-level achievements?

GS: Given that there are so many new challenges for players to face in Medieval, what, in your opinion, is the most satisfying challenge to conquer? Is there a specific victory condition that's hardest of all? A quest line that's exceptionally challenging? A storyline that's really entertaining or otherwise rewarding?

RB: The hardest victory condition would certainly be earning every achievement. There are almost 50 ambition achievements, so to earn those, you'd have to get platinum level in every ambition. That's really hard.

There are more than 100 random other achievements, from grinding up a max-level wizard to throwing 100 sims in the pit of judgment.

GS: And given that Medieval is so focused on character-driven quests, how is failure to accomplish these quests handled? Is there concern about making some quests too punishing or humiliating to fail? Conversely, are there any quests that can be failed in entertaining ways?

RB: Failing a quest is not such a bad thing. Some players may intentionally fail a quest as part of the way they are telling their story in the game. For example, if one of the hero sims you are controlling on a quest dies, then you fail that quest. But this just means you have fewer quest points left in that play-through of the game. That may be a worthwhile trade-off for a player who has decided to kill off a hero sim in some entertaining way. Some quests are hard to win. Players who fail can play that quest again; perhaps with a different approach or with a different hero, or by making different decisions during the quest.

GS: Is there anything else you'd like to add about the dangers of medieval life in The Sims: Medieval or about the game in general?

Get thee to the pit of judgment forthwith! We'll determine whether you're a witch…later.

RB: As you lead your sims on the adventures that shape their lives, you will find that medieval life was full of unexpected twists and turns. One minute, you're having your monarch practice military strategy with visiting foreign leaders. The next, your knight is being humiliated in the stockade. And before you know it, your physician is swallowing a locket to hide it from being discovered by the monarch's heavily armed guard. Medieval sims, medieval stories, medieval hazards.

GS: Thanks, Rachel.

Game is sounding better and better the more I hear about it. I may have to take a few vacation days once this thing is released...

[Dasale]

Woo I can't believe it's not a joke, I just face a shop pub for the Mac version, and game description sounds almost like Majesty 1. I'm fan of Majesty 2 but for sure it's not really anymore a sim like Majesty 1 was in part. That said if it's just a contemplative Sim I'll get bored anyway.

[Dez]

This actually looks quite intresting. I never thought of saying this about a sims game.

[xSamhainx]

I know the feeling, the Sims franchise has never held any interest for me at all. I'm still waiting to see if Skaven is going to eventually bust out newsbits or if we will hold on to the Sims predjudice that so many people undoubtedly have. There's a lot of resentment towards the Sims for being pretty much the best selling pc franchise ever, totally crushing the RPG classics in sales. Secondly, the Sims is seen as a game for wives and daughters, effectively a big dollhouse sim. What big old mean tough RPG guy is going to be seen liking anything to do w/ dollies, ever? Unless it's the accepted "paper dollies", then it's ok..

Meanwhile people are wetting their pants in excitement when they hear that their New Big RPG is going to have NPCs going about their daily lives, on schedules, working, bullshitting w/ each other, carrying on w/ trades. I'm seeing that here. I'm not wetting my pants tho, I have fairly good bladder control.

It's understandable in a way, I have no interest in the old series at all and think of it as a big old domestic dollhouse that I'd rather not play in. I'm holding no grudge however towards future games that take the concept in a different direction, particularly the fantasy sim/rpg direction.

[Dasale]

…Secondly, the Sims is seen as a game for wives and daughters, effectively a big dollhouse sim. What big old mean tough RPG guy is going to be seen liking anything to do w/ dollies, ever? Unless it's the accepted "paper dollies", then it's ok…
For sure I never played with dolls, at best with soldiers but more with guns and stuff. :) Ha you are right I can't buy a game for girls!

I'm holding no grudge however towards future games that take the concept in a different direction, particularly the fantasy sim/rpg direction.
Well quoted like that I will hardly resist to the curiosity, so I'll have find a girl to buy the game and then find how steal it in secret. That's the way that true big old mean tough RPG guys behave. :smartass:

[cutterjohn]

I haven't played a SIMS game in ages (think the last one was one where you evolve a planet so way before the people ones). But plan on trying this one out after I saw a news release on it awhile back.

I will leave its status up to the rest of you (i.e. is it RPGNews or not). I just know I love the idea of a Medieval SIM with quests, castle/kingdom building and other cool stuff. But then I am a sucker for a lot of fantasy based stuffed and running my own kingdom sounds like fun.SimEarth IIRC. IMNHO it pretyt well sucked except for being able to throw distasters all over the place or maybe I'm confusing that w/city and earth just plain old sucked…

I was intrigued by this title as well, but more than put off by it's price. Might try it if it gets put in a good sale, or I find it early in the bargain bin.


@xSamhainx
I stopped reading the gamespot drivel when the whinged about kitchen fires. They were a MUCH BIGGER threat in ancient/medieval and even more recent times... Chicago fire anyone? Rome? *snicker* imbeciles.

[xSamhainx]

@Dasale:
absolutely. That's how I beat The Secret of the Magic Crystals last summer.

Tho I dont see this one as anything to be ashamed of in anything more than name. I think you can maintain reasonable guy cred and play this.

[Dasale]

I read more about it including the official description and as most often (and logically) for such trademarks even if there's a wish to do something else, there's a lot of caution to not be too much out of the bounds of the trademark.

So it's a lot about "girls" stuff like build a more cute throne, use prettier cloth and crown, with a lot of romances everywhere, and many kitchen too (can't believe one of the few items interaction quoted are about kitchen tools), and so on.

So well I'll hardly enjoy fully but the curiosity will force me try it anyway. Not a problem I have found the right tactic, I'll go straight to the shopkeeper and will explain that I'm looking for a gift for my young niece and will drop sim in the conversation. If he ever propose me another Sim I'll exclaim ho what a great idea she is fan, but I think she have them all, perhaps the last released?

Then at time to pay I'll insist that it's a great gift for my young niece, and if I feel too many people are looking at me strangely I'll shout loud, I'm sure that my young niece will enjoy this birthday gift.

So I'm fully ready with the perfect plan in hands and all honor saved.

[Maus-san]

My girly self loves Sims (my boy hates it ;) ) so i will get this one, as fast as a can >:D

[zakhal]

If they want to do it right they should do it like in the old Castles games where you had to make decisions as king while building your castle. Been a king was anything but easy. This does sound a bit like it:
Each neighboring nation has a specific way that you go about taking it over. Some may require political finesse, some straight-out conflict, some a carefully planned marriage. You influence the outcome of conflict in a variety of ways that unfold through the quest system. Everything is kept on the level of individual sims. For example, your knight might train up some new soldiers whom you send off to fight, or your blacksmith might make new weapons and armor and send it off to the front lines. GS: We know that Medieval is a different game from its predecessors, since the game has actual victory conditions and actually ends at a certain point. Is it possible to fail? Will there be a losing "Game Over" screen?

Last sims game I actually liked was the original SimCity.

So it's a lot about "girls" stuff like build a more cute throne, use prettier cloth and crown, with a lot of romances everywhere, and many kitchen too (can't believe one of the few items interaction quoted are about kitchen tools), and so on.
Sounds about as interesting as ship design in GalCiv2. It was interesting for about 20min. After that I just downloaded custom ship models from other players. They were pretty good though. If this game has that option too Im sure therell be som impressive castles that you can just download.

However if they castles never see combat then the point is kidna lost…

Playing a medieval ruler in Mount & Blade has been so satisfying that Im not sure if this kinda game can be fun anymore. Might be better if I just bought Castles-games from GoG and waited a demo of this before buying.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

What irritates me of this interview is that the interviewer calles the "sadistic SIMs players" "very, very sick people", but on the other hand does nothing but ask questions on hazards, failure, dangers, ways of dying and so on. Everything sounds to me as if the interviewer is just one of these "sadistic SIMs players" but wanted to say he or she isn't. This "sick, sick people" statement just doesn't sound honest in my ears. It's way too much exaggerated to be honest.

But that's just my personal opinion.

The rest of the interview makes me becoming more and more interested, although I REALLY wish the interviewer had talked about SUCCEEDING of running a kingdom ...

[Thaurin]

What irritates me of this interview is that the interviewer calles the "sadistic SIMs players" "very, very sick people", but on the other hand does nothing but ask questions on hazards, failure, dangers, ways of dying and so on. Everything sounds to me as if the interviewer is just one of these "sadistic SIMs players" but wanted to say he or she isn't. This "sick, sick people" statement just doesn't sound honest in my ears. It's way too much exaggerated to be honest

That's obviously meant humorously as a "guilty pleasure" that everyone that plays the game "secretly" indulges oneself in, but shouldn't (because torture is *wrong* ;)). It's a joke.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Okay, but I still don't understand why this interview - as quoted - is to 99 % on failures, badness, incidents, deaths, hazards, casualties etc. …
There is nothing positive in it, nothing at all.

[zakhal]

Okay, but I still don't understand why this interview - as quoted - is to 99 % on failures, badness, incidents, deaths, hazards, casualties etc. …
There is nothing positive in it, nothing at all.
Alrik, always looking for the bright side of life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Ah, yes, I do know this song ! :biggrin:
I even have the CD-single of it ! :biggrin:

[Karmapowered]

Color me interested in this one, but I will wait to get trustworthy feedback before even looking into buying it.

I am beyond the times where I rushed into everything that glittered and glimmered on the RPG video game shelves.

If it comes close to The Guild II (http://www.theguild2.com/), without the bugs and graphical lag, I might even reconsider taunting Sim's players.


Wow, this looks really fun, our jaws are dropping at how cool this looks! -

The Sims Townhall 2010: The Sims Medieval PART 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY4p0H6rSqE)

The Sims Townhall 2010: The Sims Medieval PART 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4R0wI2ratE&feature=fvw)

The Sims Townhall 2010: The Sims Medieval PART 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjTdKOkUsvw&feature=channel)

[skavenhorde]

I'm still waiting to see if Skaven is going to eventually bust out newsbits

I've sorta been on Chinese New Year Vacation over here since my family is visiting. They'll be heading back to America in a few weeks. I've only have had time to post some impressions about Dungeons, but when my family heads back to America then everything returns to normal. I'll be posting something about this whether or not people agree it is a RPG.

That last interview sold it for me. It's rpg enough to be mentioned here.

If you've played any Sims games before then you can get a pretty good picture of what they are doing. Instead of Jobs you have quests. The thing that I would love for this game to do is instead of just "sending" the equipment or heroes off to fight you actually went off to fight.

They just now came out with an expansion for The Sims that let's you control what you do at work. Before you just drove to work, time passed and you came home. That always annoyed me a little. They'll be doing that for this game as well. You'll send off your heroes/equipment to the front lines, time will pass and it will tell you if you succeeded or not. That's just a guess btw, but it fits. Other than that it sounds great.

Maybe in an expansion you'll be able to go to the front lines.

[SAGO]

Lol.

You're excited by the sims

[Dasale]

Lol.

You're excited by the sims

Mmm that means you have already played a Sims, I believed it was only girls that played that, or perhaps you are one?

As a classical male I never played any Sims, not for me, but clearly the developers are trying to target a different audience with Sim Medieval so I could give it a go, at last a Sims for us the males.

[SAGO]

Mmm that means you have already played a Sims, I believed it was only girls that played that, or perhaps you are one?

As a classical male I never played any Sims, not for me, but clearly the developers are trying to target a different audience with Sim Medieval so I could give it a go, at last a Sims for us the males.

Yes i have played the sims and no, i am not a girl, i am infact a tranny.

[Dasale]

Yes i have played the sims and no, i am not a girl, i am infact a tranny.
Yeah great it took me a while before to get what tranny means, fine for you but I didn't knew there was a supposed difference in the appreciation or not of the Sims. :biggrin:

[Alrik Fassbauer]

As a classical male I never played any Sims,

Even a "classical male" should know his enemy, so to say. ;)

For me, things like sex were never important; to me, things like Art were much more important !

I don't define myself by my sex. I define myself by my creativity. ;)

And that's - imho a completely different approach (although I must admit that most people would rather call it "insane" :biggrin: ).

At one point in live, at least in my case, these things just don't matter anymore. There are more important things than that out there, imho.

[Dasale]

It's a lost struggle in this case, in no way you can understand "the enemy" if you are a classical male. :)

It's also not a matter of sex it's a matter of symbols and in our western womanized civilization, it's not vain to highlight "classical" because it's things of the past. No surprise that now kids make the law and are faster to complain than to appreciate. What to expect when you are replacing the values and symbols of law and order by values highlighting sweetness and self morale which is at best a very vague notion. :)

[xSamhainx]

I know that english clearly isnt your first language, but still - that's one of the most incoherant posts that i think I've ever read!

[JDR13]

I was surprised to see this at a store today. I thought it was still a ways out from release.

Anyone play it yet?

[wolfgrimdark]

I was surprised to see this at a store today. I thought it was still a ways out from release.

Anyone play it yet?

Not yet ... but its sitting on my desktop right now waiting to be installed :-)

[xSamhainx]

downloading it...

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I'd like to hear from you as well.

[wiretripped]

It's released? :blink:
My my, a Sims title being released without "fanfare" and the usual marketing?

That said, I'd like to hear some impressions, if anyone cares to share... :)

[zakhal]

I should receive it today but Im getting sick and I have million other things I have to do so Im not sure If I have the time.

[zakhal]

I played this yesterday while on fever and to my suprise I somhow liked it. Never played sims before but this didnt seem so bad. You have to make decisions about the kingdom as a king (or queen) just like in those castles-games. You can i.e hunt in your "royal forest" to get better food than porridge. You can do nasty things to people. Social things are interestings.

And there are resources and inventories. I allready managed to get a better sword and then sharpen it even. And I gathered som stuff like wood and stone for my buildings. Som of the stuff I gathered I sold in the village shop. I beated up one bandit and put one woman into chains. I havent dont much of quests yet so I dont know how good they are. The village has many places I havent visited yet like the harbor or monster layer. I dont even know anything about magic yet. Lots to do still.

[Roi Danton]

It's released? :blink:
My my, a Sims title being released without "fanfare" and the usual marketing?

That said, I'd like to hear some impressions, if anyone cares to share… :)

I was quite surprised too when I saw the game this morning while shopping.

[rune_74]

The sims isn't a roleplaying game...but it wasn't a horrible game either. It filled a niche game area that needed to be filled. I think I may check out this medieval version.

[xSamhainx]

Me and Tigress been playing it for two days now - it's an addictive game. It's not really what I expected, and at first I wasnt sure about it because we were looking at it thru the lens of our expectations. After ten hours of play, the game's totally opened up and we both are having a lot of fun w/ it.

The good:
-the game's got character in spades, it's funny and fun to play. Great atmosphere. Many lol moments.
-lots of things to craft, gather, etc. You can craft cool magic equipment.
-Besides quest-based things, your character has a mini-game employment. that they have to do or they get thrown in the stocks. A fun economy to take part in.
-all your sims heroes can interact w/ each other, and all heroes are customizable from the get-go or you can use pre-set. The classes are all different and they have lots of pros and cons and differences between them.
-everything can be re-decorated, a dizzying amount of aesthetic options. Some of these options, like better beds and implements make your sims more rested, enable advanced recipes, provide positive buffs, etc.
-spells, magic are fun to use
-the relationships can be fun to play thru, you can even progress to marriage/children or dire enemies
-some fun quests, ie intimidate people, etc
-lots of choices, things pop out at you from nowhere and you have to make an instant choice. You can either get a ton of XP if you choose wisely, or suddenly youre injured w/ a "deep laceration" and have to see the physician.
-nice balance between responsibilities as a member of the kingdom, quest missions, and human needs.
-Buffs and de-buffs happen as a result of your sim's actions and environment, and influence how well or successful their tasks, conflicts, quests etc play out.
-speed up/slow down controls so if you want to speed thru a mundane task or get from point a to b instantly you can.
-Being a monarch is fun!
-You can play as good or evil.
-awesome graphics, very nice sim models and everything looks great. Day/night cycles, good sound.

The bad:
- The more dramatic quests are text-based, for instance hunting a great bear. Your character disappears off-screen and reappears. You either fail or succeed at the quest in relation to your characters physical status, mood, focus, skills, equipment etc. Kinda lame, and at first a major disappointment. Whatever, I've gotten past it.
-no choice of new skills when leveling, your heroes all have skills that happen every level whether you want them or not.
-The combat is not that good.
-you just plop down specific buildings in pre-determined places, no choice of location or style of structure.
-The game is based on several quest lines you can choose from, each time you determine which hero is going to be doing the quest line and how. That is the only hero you can directly control during the quest chain, and until it's been finished. Meanwhile, your other heroes go about their lives and you can interact with them, but not directly control them. ****UPDATED There are quests where multiple heroes are involved, and you have to manage them all simultaneously. I see now why they chose the 1-hero approach on a lot of quests because it can be pretty chaotic. Best to pause and get a few orders for one hero racked up (or get them training or something) then actively control the other one.



If you do get it, do yourself a favor - get the Prima strategy guide. The tutorial is ok, but it's a ton of information to absorb right there and then, and most likely you'll just want to get playing. It's got all the recipes for the game's meals, potions, poisons, blacksmithing, etc etc. Theyre there in game as well, but it makes things so much easier to have everything at your fingertips.

[figment]

Thanks for the detailed summary/review. I was intrigued when I first heard about it here and was surprised that it is already out and didn't hear anything about it before hand. I think it it could have at least been put on the front page when it was released but I suppose people dont consider it RPG enough.

Sad to hear that the quests are text-based as well as combat but I really didn't expect a detailed combat engine since its a Sims game and the rest of the bad is pretty much what I was expecting. The good definitely sounds better than I was expecting so I think I will plan to pick this up after I'm done with DA2.

[Dasale]

No clear goals? I don't think goals is standard in the series but I wonder for this one.

[xSamhainx]

More on combat:
It's not all text-based, theres actually quite a bit of actual combat available in it. While it's not all that detailed it can be fun and actually quite exciting as the stakes get higher. A fight can have resounding effects on a sims life for a while. I'm having more fun w/ the combat as my characters level and more abilities unlock and they get better gear, and more is also on the line when someone either wins or loses. For example, if someone loses a fight, they get a "lost a fight" type de-buff that hinders their overall quest/life performance for some time. Also, they typically suffer an injury that takes a while to heal. Conversely, if they win a fight they get like a positive +20 buff to their life skills for a while. Better yet, if they have certain traits, like "bloodthirsty" or "cruel", they can get additional buffs for satiating their need to hurt others or see others suffer, or get rid of a negative de-buff. Plus they get Xp for winning.

You can duel (even to the death), spar, and fistfight. Using special abilities is a matter of right clicking and picking a few different abilities your hero char has gained w/ his or her levels. For instance, I dueled my spy Imoen (hehe) w/ Vlad (my monarch), and he barely won even tho she's lower level - shes quicker! Luckily he was able to nail her w/ a "hilt smash" w/ the butt of his sword which sent her health bar plummeting. Another factor when youre fighting is stamina, using heavier equipment hits harder but your stamina depletes quicker. Using special abilities also depletes stamina.


Dasale - there are overarching quest and vocation goals that you must attain, or the gameplay starts closing down as your sim's opportunities and performance dwindles. It's a totally goal-oriented game, and that's actually one of the things a lot of people arent liking about it. For a sims game, it's very demanding. You cant just take your time and sandbox it, do what you want, and get around to priorities later. If you do, you very well may end up w/ a Sim who cannot accomplish anything due to low morale, and will eventually end up arrested in the stocks getting eggs and tomatoes thrown at them for not pulling their weight in the community as blacksmith, wizard, knight, etc etc. Blacksmith has daily duties like fixing X number of swords, wizards have potion orders they have to fulfill for example. These are all in addition to the overall quest line theyre following, their food/sleep needs, and taking care of their particular trait hangups like "bloodthirsty" (the need to fight) or whatever.

[Dasale]

Thanks xSamhainx for all the feedback and details. But ok there are challenges and intermediate goals and a game can be lost, very good points.

But what are the goal itself of one game? Conquer all neighbors, collect an amount of gold defined, reach a popularity level, and so on? Perhaps you already explained but I can't get it. Apart from losing the game what can end a game? An answer to this question could help me figure that point.

EDIT: Ha well, it's a dual PC/Mac release so I'd better not skip it or I could regret later. So you probably already sold me the game even without making me understand the final goals of the game.

[Majnun]

In case anyone is interested there's an update.

changelist:
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/5592709.page

patch:
http://www.patches-scrolls.de/sims_medieval.php#1313

I still haven't played the game but there ya go anyway.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

There is an expension out now, by the way.

[xSamhainx]

Lost interest in the title a couple pretty solid weeks into play. Got my money out of it for sure, but - it's got some damning faults (some of which were addressed in patching) but it was a little too little, a little too late. Burned bright then burned out hard and uninstalled.

Maybe pick it up again in a year or so when Steam get's the "gold edition" for ten bucks and i'll try this Pirate expansion thing. Might be fun

[Thaurin]

The Sims Medievel for iPhone is currently free (http://appshopper.com/games/the-sims-medieval). ;) It will probably revert back to normal price VERY soon, though.

[skavenhorde]

Thanks, just grabbed it for my iPhone.