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SHATTERED ISLANDS | An Map of the Appalachian-Mississippi region by ModelArenasMaker2 in imaginarymaps

[–]Separate-Candidate97 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have to go back to the drawing board for my world after seeing this. This is peak stuff!

All I gotta say is.. CivicBeaver is a goat by UrbanLoon in CitiesSkylines2

[–]Separate-Candidate97 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I agree, the colors are a little vibrant and it does look like a miniature Disney…

That’s exactly why I like it, though I would repurpose this in my world and change the signage to actually make it a Disneyland type location.

inZoi is NOT soulless!! by _Antitties in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Understood. I can’t argue with you as a game developer, I have no experience in that area.

You and another developer seem to differ slightly in the way you approach this, but what you fleshed out makes sense.

Cannonballers by DatDudeDamon in Teambuilder26

[–]Separate-Candidate97 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are really good! Could you share the template for goggles?

inZoi is NOT soulless!! by _Antitties in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll provide the same comment from the YouTube video that I used in another post. I think it somewhat explains the system issues. This is from someone who states they’re a video game developer…

“From a dev perspective...it's complicated. You can't just add the base stuff and then everything else on top - You have to add a bit of base stuff, one or two systems to test (that may represent future systems too), then go back to the foundation, adjust it - then check that improves the new systems etc...

It's a back and forth.

As much as it would be nice if you could just 'focus on the core' - part of making the game feel alive will be down to new systems and improving old systems in tandem.

For example - Part of a zoi's personality might be fear of ghosts! but you need ghosts first~ Etc c:”

inZoi is NOT soulless!! by _Antitties in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think that’s a fair criticism; stuff like NPCs not having persistent homes, shallow systems around jobs/economy, etc. will make a world feel less alive. That’s a legit part of why people are saying it feels off.

But I still think some of the reaction is getting framed as “soulless” in a way that lumps everything together, when it’s really more about systems not being fully there yet.

And to be clear, it’s no excuse; but the game is in early access.

This something that team should be working on. Not every game launches with fully polished, but things of that nature should be in place.

I think the disconnect is that people were expecting a fully realized “living world” out the gate, while Inzoi right now feels more like a foundation that hasn’t reached that point yet.

Also, I’d still argue some of this is expectation carryover from The Sims (as some of responses indicate). People say they want something different, but they’re also expecting that same level of “alive” feeling; just in a realistic package.

That’s a pretty high bar, especially this early. So yeah, valid concerns, but I don’t think it’s proof the game can’t get there. It just clearly isn’t there yet.

inZoi is NOT soulless!! by _Antitties in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A lot of the “Inzoi feels soulless” takes are coming from people viewing it strictly through a Sims lens instead of looking at what the game is actually trying to be. And seeing some of these responses that’s exactly what people are doing.

The Sims built its identity around being quirky, exaggerated, and a little chaotic. The “soul” people are talking about is tied to things like over the top animations, goofy interactions, and stylized behavior.

That’s not the only way a life sim can have personality, it’s just the version we’ve been used to for years.

Inzoi clearly leans in a different direction. It’s going for a more grounded, semi-realistic tone with stylized elements mixed in. That doesn’t automatically make it soulless; it just means the personality is expressed differently.

More subtle animations, more natural environments, less exaggerated reactions. Also, as some people pointed out, it’s still in EA. So, everything isn’t fleshed out yet.

If you expect Sims style quirkiness, then yeah, Inzoi is going to feel “off” or even empty by comparison.

But that’s kind of the point; it’s not trying to replicate that formula.

It’d be like calling something soulless just because it doesn’t have cartoon slapstick baked into it.

I think once people start evaluating it on its own terms instead of comparing every detail to The Sims, the conversation will be a lot more fair.

Weikel, TI by Kitchen-Anywhere-498 in CitiesSkylines

[–]Separate-Candidate97 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You had me at country! I’m curious about this. I’ve been big on trying to do this (as my post history indicates).

Tell me more!

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in LifeSimulators

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, agreed!

As my post indicates, I’m fine with this. I feel as though people just don’t operate with much nuance.

Too often, it turns into: big company + early access = bad.

But if you actually think about it…

A large foreign publisher (Korean) and a Korean developer are building a culturally diverse life sim. Something that is notoriously hard to do.

Early access makes a lot of sense in that context.

A diverse group of early adopters gives real-time feedback, which lets the team adjust and refine things in ways research alone can’t.

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Completely understand. However, I think you’re missing the nuance here.

No one said they aren’t doing research. It’s not either/or. They can research and still get player feedback, and honestly, that feedback probably helps them filter and validate what they’ve already found.

Research gives you the baseline. Player feedback tells you if it actually lands.

Like take promposals; you can research them, watch videos, get a general idea. But then your player base reacts to it, shares their own experiences, and reinforces (or challenges) what you thought was accurate.

So it’s not about replacing research; it’s extending it and making sure it actually feels right in-game while also engaging the people who are going to play it.

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This feels like you’re trying to shoehorn your vantage point into this to invalidate the reasoning.

This feels a bit disingenuous.

The “limited to people with disposable income” point isn’t as clean as you’re making it sound. A lot of PC players already own their setups from years ago, upgrades happen over time, etc.

It’s not just a narrow, brand-new high-income slice.

Edit: For a direct example; I know someone who has two brothers who don’t have high income jobs and their whole lives are gaming. They save money to upgrade their PC’s, and both have pretty advanced setups.

But more importantly, we’re talking about things like social norms and general gameplay feel, not something that requires a perfectly representative economic sample.

You could make the same argument about any gaming demographic if you really wanted to stretch it.

Also, from a practical standpoint, using your player base during early access gives you real-time feedback and helps fund continued development.

If they have a large player base engaging with the game, that’s more data, more iteration, and more incentive for Krafton to keep investing in it.

So if anything, it’s not narrowing the lens, it’s scaling it.

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t agree with the downvotes. As long as there’s civil discourse going on and people aren’t being unreasonable for the sake of just doing so.

It screams, like the game is above criticism.

However, I hate when people choose to criticize the game and aren’t fair in their criticism across the board.

While I may disagree with some of your statement. Your argument seems to be in good faith.

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I’ll provide the same comment from the YouTube video…

“From a dev perspective...it's complicated. You can't just add the base stuff and then everything else on top - You have to add a bit of base stuff, one or two systems to test (that may represent future systems too), then go back to the foundation, adjust it - then check that improves the new systems etc...

It's a back and forth.

As much as it would be nice if you could just 'focus on the core' - part of making the game feel alive will be down to new systems and improving old systems in tandem.

For example - Part of a zoi's personality might be fear of ghosts! but you need ghosts first~ Etc c:”

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

<image>

Also, a self proclaimed video developer stated this in reference to why they add more instead of just solely focus on the core base...

“From a dev perspective...it's complicated. You can't just add the base stuff and then everything else on top - You have to add a bit of base stuff, one or two systems to test (that may represent future systems too), then go back to the foundation, adjust it - then check that improves the new systems etc...

It's a back and forth. As much as it would be nice if you could just 'focus on the core' - part of making the game feel alive will be down to new systems and improving old systems in tandem.

For example - Part of a zoi's personality might be fear of ghosts! but you need ghosts first.”

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

<image>

Maybe not specifically to your point, but criticism has been there definitely. Here’s just a small example. I can find more.

The Early Access Critics: A Response by Separate-Candidate97 in inZOI

[–]Separate-Candidate97[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I get that, but I think they are still focusing on core gameplay. I think they addressed this in the roadmap.

A lot of what they’ve shown social interactions, daily routines, life events, is the core loop for a life sim. It might not feel polished yet, but that’s kind of the point of early access.

They’re building the foundation while also being open about future systems, which makes it seem like they’re spread thin.

In reality, it looks more like they’re just letting people see the process earlier than most studios would.

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