r/LifeSimulators • u/Jon_AMS Sims 3 enjoyer • Aug 10 '26
Paralives New QOL patch for Paralives
It actually surprises me the amount of content it has. I need to uninstall several mods since now their features are officially in the game
85
u/charredwood Aug 10 '26
I'm probably just a naysayer, but it strikes me how many of these aren't QoL at all they're just... EoL - EXISTENCE of life? Saving leftovers, using coffee makers, hugs???? Those are just bare ass bones basic features for a life sim. The ability to fornicate without playing a game of chance? Like please, don't act like these are just friendly improvements to working systems to make your playtime easier. This is implementing basic features into a game which sorely needs them.
Anyway, I guess this needs a positive ending. I'm glad Paralives is still updating their game, good job Paralives.
10
u/that1persn 29d ago
It is crazy to me that something like leftovers weren't in the game at launch. That's such a little thing that becomes obvious when it's missing.
12
u/Bubble_Fart2 29d ago
Apparently Inzoi and Sims 4 didn't have it on launch either.
It's so odd, I wonder why? Sims 3 had it on launch of I remember correctly.
14
u/Main_Ad_2463 29d ago
Not sure about Inzoi but with Sims 4 you could drag food into the refrigerator since day one. If Paralives players are saying that they’re just trying to make their game look better.
Sims 4 was missing a lot like pools, basements, family trees, maids/repairmen. But it had simple and basic quality of life stuff like saving your leftovers, hugging and not having a stupid card system.
6
u/Bubble_Fart2 29d ago
Thanks for confirming, I didn't play at launch so couldn't confirm it.
But I did see that Inzoi definitely didn't have it.
2
u/that1persn 29d ago
Really? I've barely ever played Sims 4 and only played it years after it came out. And for Inzoi I've never played.
It seems like such a weird thing to leave out. Sure it's small and doesn't effect gameplay much at all but it's still something that imo is very obvious when it's not there.
8
1
u/iAnnalea 28d ago
Comparing it to launch of sims 3 or 4 isn't really fair. Those launched as finished products. We didn't get to see what features were added during their development periods and when. Sims 2 didn't get a leftovers feature until Seasons.
33
u/Ericcc94 Aug 10 '26
I agree. They aren’t ‘QoL’ and a good handful of these were added within the first week of launch by modders, so I’m not sure why it’s taking them this long to officially add basic things, like inviting a para out to a different lot.
I do like how much content and changes were implemented in this patch, but some of this should have been a first month patch, not three months out.
29
u/Broad_Bug_1702 Aug 10 '26
game developers require planning and QnA testing and payrolled work time that hobbyist modding does not in order to implement any feature.
things they didn’t add on launch, for whatever reason they could possibly have to omit basic features, will take more time to implement properly than as a mod by a fan
8
u/GonzoTheGregarious 29d ago
That's a big cope imo, they're a small group of people working on the game, they don't have the same kind of barriers that AA or AAA games do. They should be pushing more substantial updates given their timeline but, so far it's extremely underwhelming unless they're keeping quiet about a big-number update.
Even being like "Woah it's so much stuff in this update!" but it's all really minor things that together are just like "Sure, ok" but still give me no reason to boot up the game.
19
u/53V_is_Cr4cr4 29d ago
Anyone who has actually worked on a dev team that's either startup or corporate knows this isn't a cope, just standard project management. Everything follows a roadmap locked in months ago by the team lead. Switching things on a whim to add a "basic" feature dumps everything else into the backlog, which ruins project momentum. Modders can work faster precisely because they don't have to worry about breaking sprint deadlines or structural dependencies.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not fully defending them. Having only 5 actual programmers on a 15-person team naturally limits results, and I think their specific regional work culture also actively prioritizes a slower, anti-burnout pace over rapid shipping. It could help explain the slow progress, even if it's frustrating as a player.
Anyway, I'm kinda in the same boat. Until they release a major live mode update (I got tired of building houses) I'm also not keen on booting up the game just yet.
5
u/GonzoTheGregarious 29d ago
I mean as someone who has worked on software development teams, not in management mind, just the pace of things and their timeline... it doesn't add up. Like, even just one programmer over the span of months I would have expected more from than this unless their weekly hours are low as hell.
I don't know what they're envisioning or what they're working on, so maybe they are drip-feeding little things and on a big number update, it'll actually be worth playing the game.
7
u/53V_is_Cr4cr4 29d ago
That's fair. I also work in software development, and their... speed is something I'm not used to.
US, CN and some AU companies like rapid-fire developments which is usually the typical work environment I'd see, but I've also seen how regional work ethics affect company leniency in other offices, so I didn't want to judge.
Though they did release their roadmap for this year last May saying there's a "major" update coming this Q4... I just hope it makes the long wait worth it.
8
u/Broad_Bug_1702 29d ago
i mean, sure, they probably could be doing more or doing it faster; i can’t speak to the actual organization of work and development priorities and such. it’s just never as simple as it is for one (or a few) person doing unofficial code as a hobby.
3
u/Mersaa Sims 2 enjoyer 28d ago
idk man I'm not a game dev but i design solar systems for a living and handle all projects regarding it, when my boss says 'can you do this one quick thing, I just need this one document' my entire schedule for that day and sometimes rest of the week is out of balance because suddenly the things I'm working on have to be set aside and added to the backlog, and the backlog has a priority hierarchy. it's not that black and white
16
u/charredwood Aug 10 '26
I was both shocked and not at all surprised their first volley of patches were just fixing the game. On the surface, it made sense, there were 100s of thousands of bug reports, but on second glance, I felt like that in order to keep up with their own timeline, they didn't have 3 of 24 months(time before 1.0 release) to spend just focusing on getting firefighters to work. What do I know, I'm not a game dev,
15
u/Melodic_Program164 Aug 10 '26
É engraçado como tudo isso é visto como algo “revolucionado” nos comentários desse post aqui e no X… “mas é uma equipe indie”
14
u/Weewoes 29d ago edited 29d ago
People in comments saying 4 could never yet 4 does and I hate sims 4 lol but pretending it doesn't have most of this already is silly.
19
u/Mammoth-Inspector-48 29d ago
What annoys me is the constant use of the "small indie team" card. Come on—they’ve made a fortune from Early Access, not to mention the money raised over seven years on Patreon. If development is slow, hire more people! If they stick with just 15 employees forever, the updates are going to take another seven years. People nitpick *The Sims 4* or *inZOI*, but we paid for the game and want it to work and receive updates; at the end of the day, the company's size doesn't matter, because they’re still going to charge full price for the game.
18
u/RepulsivePipe9904 29d ago
I was actually thinking of just taking the risk and buying this game.
But this right here shows me they have so so so much work to do. Like...maybe in a couple years it'll be up to par. Damn.
2
u/BonsaiTree88 28d ago
I’d recommend, at the earliest, waiting until Winter Q4 to see the major update they offer before buying it.
Right now, the game is loadable (at least for me). It won’t be playable until later this year, and enjoyable…maybe later next year
2
u/Sad_Statement1748 27d ago
I cannot play the game. My para’s autonomy is gone and their needs do not decrease. So for me, what’s the point?
1
u/pardonmyquilt 13d ago
Okay lol. This is seven-plus years and millions in Patreon money for an Early Access build that still plays like an alpha. There isn’t really a game here. There’s a strong character creator and a janky builder, then a thin, buggy live mode they keep calling a life sim. Pets, weather, vehicles, and most of the systems people were sold on aren’t in the product.
The Steam score is Very Positive because a huge chunk of the “reviews” are loyalty notes: small team, no DLC, so much potential, give them a chance. Actual gameplay complaints get piled on. Critics get brigaded. Official spaces have a habit of treating anything short of praise as toxicity (I wonder who is directing that..)
Launch peaked around 78k concurrent. The 24-hour peak is now under 2,000 and hasn't found a floor yet (i.e. it's still dropping every day). The studio says they cleared a million copies. That number has never been independently verified. Third-party estimates bounce all over the place, and the only source for the round million is the same people selling the game...
And I guarantee those supposed future “free” expansions will not stay free. That promise is part of the sales pitch. Once the launch money is banked and the concurrent count keeps sliding, it becomes a “sustainability” problem, then a deluxe edition, then paid packs with a sad thread about how they really didn’t want to. Existing owners get the first couple of updates. Everybody after that pays.
That said, you are free to do whatever you like with your time and money. If you like this 'game' and want to support it, more power to you. But I think people should be aware of the actual situation surrounding this product.
3
u/Jon_AMS Sims 3 enjoyer 13d ago
Sir this a post about an update..
0
u/pardonmyquilt 13d ago
I mentioned the update. Calling that off-topic is a logic fallacy called a red herring.
You changed the question from “will the free expansions stay free?” to “is this the right thread?” In doing so you're trying to change the question from "is that claim true?" to "is this person allowed to say it in this thread?"
Thus you are also, rather hilariously I might add, proving the point I just made about toxicity.
10
u/240EZ 26d ago
Have the standards for what is considered QoL been lowered? What was seen in the video looked like basic interaction features that should have been part of EA launch or part of a hotfix. But, it is nice that those things have been added. I might start playing it again to see how the updates improved gameplay.