Paralives: New Early Access Details
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
- With life by you early access delayed yet again and no word on project renee/ sims 5, t we're now learning more about early access for paralives. But paralives team is cutting some paramaker and live mode/ gameplay features to make sure it releases on time.
Here’s a review of newer dev chats from the team, discussions about paralives development, and my honest opinions.
Stay tuned for news, updates, pack reviews and commentary about paralives, sims 4, life by you, inzoi and more.
Background Info & FAQ
When paralives was first announced, there was a lot of excitement building into how this simulation game from an indie studio could be a new game like- but different- than the sims. But though there are many complaints about sims 4 gameplay, every new life simulation game is met with criticism after its announcement- especially paradox's life by you, and, later on, maybe INZOI, the Korean simulation game.
FAQ
Paralives FAQ
Is there a release date for Paralives?
It’s still in early development. Early access comes out 2025!
How is Paralives different from The Sims?
Paralives is being developed by a small indie developer and features unique graphics. For now, it seems to be interested in a more realistic take on a life simulator. It will also include unique features like height sliders.
Why is it called Paralives?
“The name Paralives is a reference to parallel lives, allowing players to live different virtual lives and build homes to stage them.”
How many people are working on Paralives?
There are just 10 people on the Paralives team.
Will Paralives be multiplayer?
No multiplayer mode is planned.
Where can I get Paralives?
It’ll be able to be purchased for PC and Mac on Steam. No console version is planned.
Where can I learn more about Paralives?
Website:www.paralives.com/faq
Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/11...
Twitter: / paralivesgame
CZcams: / paralives
Facebook: / paralives
Instagram: / paralivesgame - Hry
Funnily enough, the last point is already outdated, because they did end up hiring an additional animator, Lina. I don't think they announced it publicly, but it was mentioned by the devs in Discord general chat
oh my apologies! I try my best to stay up to date, but never saw an official announcement. I will pin, if you're sure. When was this?
@@SimmerErinAlice introduced Lina in the general channel on Discord on Friday, saying she will be having the exact same duties as opposed to one of them focusing on characters while the other on the environment or something like that. So now they have two general animators
@@Domon0310 Oh that was recent! Well that's awesome news, and I thank you SO much for letting me know! Always want to inform people best I can!
That's great! I feel the game will progress better with another animator!
@@mimcris8481 yes, def good news!
It's kinda expected to know not everything will be included in early acesss. I do trust them because of how well thought out their roadmap so far.
Them being ambiguous with the exact date comes in handy. They could be releasing in Dec 2025 and still be "on time"
yes, I think it's wise. It did some good to announce there was an early access- I could see doubt building- but I think that flexibility is so needed. I'm cool if it is at the tail end of the year, if that is what is needed
That's all we fucking need from an EA alternative, the Cyberpunk/No Man's Sky route...
@@seand.g423 Difference being they are saying up front it's going to be early access while Cyberpunk and No Man's Sky were released in a broken state without saying a damn thing about the fact they would be also cut the Paralives team some slack it's an indie developer with a small team that could fit comfortably in a selfie so maybe chill TF out.
its fine. Sometimes it better to start small than to start to large. Slowly add things.
yeah, I think it's better than having too much than they can handle for sure. And it sounds like they are really focusing on the core foundational systems- those are key
But you should make the foundation according to that or when adding things it will cause issues but I think they dont have this issue.
I feel like sometimes people forget that "early access" means "incomplete game;" they ask for so much stuff to be available early on. Personally, as long as build mode and create-a-para work well with a reasonable number of assets, and the core functions are there (they eat, sleep, talk to others) and working well, then I think that's fine. With early access, I expect that a lot of the extra stuff (like pools and ziplines and possibly even additional life stages) are not going to be there right away. So all of what they're saying about early access sounds perfectly reasonable to me. And I agree that not giving a definite date for early access was a good idea (kinda wish LBY had gone that route, and it bothers me that we aren't hearing anything from them since they dropped the June early access date; at least not on CZcams which is pretty much the only place I have access to). Thank you for the update!
I’m excited for how Paralives is progressing. It really sounds like a team that understands good project management, and managing expectations. I’m glad they recently hired a second animator, but really wished they had a dedicated QC tester, especially someone with knowledge on automated and load testing. Even having one person identifying simple bugs would be great.
People in general are often too close to their own work and are unable to see defects that they’re used to.
That doesn't seem like a role that makes much sense at this stage of development. They're still building core features. 2025 early access could mean December 2025. Starting QC 6 months out would still give them plenty of time.
Hopefully they will get one at the end/ early access , even though it didn't sound like they would , not sure
I kinda want them to start small, you can always grow from a strong foundation. If they have all life-stages they have me sold. That seems to be something other life sims are cutting out.
Appliances can always be added on later.
I don’t actually understand the fixation on pools. I want them, but also if its not in early access I do not care.
Yes, I think it's especially important for paralives. That isn't to say that smaller things can't be notable or add a lot to a game, but you want to make sure the foundation is strong. It's like decorating a house that needs a whole foundation repair vs repairing that foundation first so to speak
@@SimmerErin Oh absolutely!! And by starting small I mean character to character interactions, character behaviors in what environments they do have, dynamic personal relationships, and at least some basic activities to do with characters.
Objects (large and small) can always be expanded upon. You can always add extra maps, more activities, and more jobs. But if you build that ‘more’ on bad core function, you’ll alway have a bit of a mess.
Yeah, that thinking works... up until it ends up as simply another justification for the exact sort of Expansion Bloat we're seeing with TS4...
@@seand.g423 Nah, they seem to be going for something like an update model over a sims DLC model. Where the game just has updates over time.
That being said, I have no issue with expansions as they were done in Sims 1-3 where you got HUNDREDS of items for the price and significant game changing true expansion. Sims 4 not only has 4 pack “types” they offer significantly less than there predecessors and aren’t packed with much and Maxis is fixated on DLC pushes every quarter rather they have a good idea or not just because they are too afraid to pull back on the ‘content’ train. Its not about real expansion of the game to make it any better/deeper just the modern chase of empty “content” that seems to be driving not just Sims, but modern gaming who all want a piece of the Fornight pie.
You can update a game without “selling” said update in a DLC package (other games have done it) and you can also actually produce DLC in a way that’s an actual expansion of the game and not just a shovel of content for contents sake. No one is going to capture all of ‘life’ on the first time. Sims 1 was an amazing game and you couldn’t even leave your house when that came out. Expansions brought you the opportunity to go other places. And while we are beyond a locked-to-lot style of game a small team being smart and having a complete, but smaller (open world) experience is perfectly fine. Minami Lane isn’t the most indepth city-builder style game out there. I still have a blast with it.
A complete game is not about how much ‘stuff’ is in it so much as it being a complete experience within itself that DLC can add to but isn’t seeking to fix. When I just had Sims 2 with no expansions cause I couldn’t afford them it still felt like a ‘complete’ playable experience.
@@seand.g423That’s not necessarily so. They don’t plan to do DLC system at all and plan to do updates to the game overtime anyway. If you have the game, you get the updates.
What I want to see from early access is well-rounded core systems that can be built on with additional content - Including well-rounded gameplay for all life stages (An area where The Sims has usually fallen flat for me - Gameplay in the core game outside of the adult lifestages - I know some folk speak more highly of the child and teen gameplay of The Sims 2 in the base game than I remember it, but The Sims 3 certainly didn't really flesh out those life stages sufficiently until Generations)
yeah, I think getting the core down is so important, far more so than say having lots of appliances, etc. you don't want to get too carried away in smaller things especially when that needs to be a focus
Sims 3 only worked for me once Generations was issued
@@janesaunders8001 it's THE must have pack for me
Paralives looks so amazing when it comes to gameplay and graphics! Can't wait to try it ✨
I really love how the art has evolved over time, and seeing the game gradually become more complex and grow. I was super unsure about it way back when I first saw it. I am def wishing them the best
It does not but ok. The graphics are weird and the movement is stiff and lifeless.
I know people are clambering for something to knock EA and TS4 down but come on now.
@@blobbertmcblob4888no one is creating a “knock off” for ea. if you’re looking for that fact look at Inzoi. People are tired of EA knockoffs and doing nothing to fix the game, people are looking FOR SOMETHING NEW AND ORIGINAL. Paralives have said their goal isn’t sims 4 or anything like that but to make a comfortable game for players that love the aspect of CUTE AND COMFY. Stop talking down on indie gamers and just stop talking ☺️✌🏻
@@blobbertmcblob4888 If you think that about Paralives, I don't even wanna know how you feel about Life by You 😶
@@blobbertmcblob4888I guess beauty really is the eye of the beholder because my sister hates the art style but I rate it quite high. Certainly not a 10 but I hardly could say I love Sims 4 graphics and their gameplay is terrible. I thought sims in 3 were hideous but the gameplay more than made up for it. I like the artstyle a lot and if the gameplay matches, Paralives beats out Sims for me. So much so that they won’t see another penny from me
I’m glad to hear that they are concentrating core features but after the Inzoi video I just watched, I just don’t know which one to be most excited about anymore. I thought it was Life By You but now I just don’t know. I wish each of them could be closer to completion so we could compare apples to apples, ya know?
ha no I get it. The more I follow games, the more I feel uncertain in a way. Really we are stepping into a time of great uncertainty. It's interesting to see so many new games (including some I have not covered) being announced all near each other.. yet all of them are kinda facing challenges too and I suspect some may. not even make it frankly
I wonder about that, too.
Life by you looks like a scam, Inzoi looks way too industrial to be enjoyable and Paralives is eventually gonna fizzle out if they don't hurry it up a bit, hate to say.
@@blobbertmcblob4888so is the sims 4…so is stardew valley. Everyone game has its rise and fall. If it’s not your cup of tea so be it 😊
To me inzoi is a very different game both are life simulators for sure but I dont think it is like conparing Apples to apples more like comparing bluberries to cranberries
It's disappointing to hear of features being cut but it's better than dealing with too much. If that means pushing features to a later time then it's acceptable. It's not like eratly access is a single date, they can still add them in early access after the initial release.
One of the reasons I always prefer offline play is because of data collection. It's why I never have and never will play a Sims game online as I don't trust EA one little bit. I look forward to your video on this topic.
indeed, some of the wording here does indicate that some features may be during early access but not the get go. I would be most concerned with say large systems and core elements missing
I was a bit surprised by the data collection comment... granted they were answering a q but could they not just do surveys, as they have during their development?
And yep, I need to Make a note of it so I don't forget - heck maybe I'll work on it right now
😆
With Life By You cancelled, Paralives is basically gonna be the last Sim standing.
there are a few others, although not all are comparable
The only other game I’m watching besides this is Inzoi and that’s got a more realistic vibe but I’m so excited to have games not under EA for some variety.
@@nova_kris6366That one I distrust because it's Korean, which means it probably won't have characters that aren't sickly pale and heterosexual.
@@julestloid I’m willing to give it a chance I’m in their discord and they have been very open to suggestions and feedback and the showcases have been decent so far.
@@nova_kris6366 What worries me about that game is it's owned by the same company that makes PUBG and that game is absolutely FILLED TO THE BRIM with micro transactions.
I can't wait for Paralives. I really love how honest and how hard this team is working on this game. You can feel their passion. This game and life by you are the games I'm waiting for.
I like how it looks and the gameplay I seen in the trailer. It look so fun
yeah, I do admire the team quite a bit. They are also humble and responsive
The together card can grow so difficult to program so quickly. This is a life sim, so there’s a lot of situations and occasions, and with each one that they add, they have to create a variable for that to be considered to show up in a conversations.
What I worry about is story progression. How will the town be like and how the paras will evolve.
That is VERY important from every aspect.
Programming: the style that they chose will create restrictions that are set for the rest of the game
Ex: the sims 2 is rotational and the sims 3 is linear with background progression. They both are very successful sims games but they feel COMPLETELY different because of that.
How will the other chatas work? Will they all be in the town fulfilling all roles or there will be npcs that show up only sometimes?
How will the characters progress? Full autonomy based on their personalities (which is also something that I want to know how it will work)? Or you need to intervene?
And so on…
I know they have sort of talked around the issue of story progression but it was a dev chat some time ago... I may look to see what I can pull up
I want the games to take their time, there are plenty of games to play at the moment and I don't want any of the new games to be rushed :)
absolutely
i really like that card system actually. its much more dynamic and responsive (seeming)than the whims system
I do think it has potential to be better than. sims 4's system certainly
I think for early access it should always be core features and a little bit more.
Life simulation can get quite boring least for me if there isn’t a unique thing to do. Would be a shame to pick it up and feel you’ve done everything within couple of hrs. As then people may put it down and not come back to it.
Specially in the life sim world. Personally people have too high expectations for this due to the sims. But that is how it is.
I have good hopes for paralives. Personally think it’s going to be such a good game even if only half the features they promised are able to be implemented.
that is true, there needs to be unique selling points and it'll be interesting to see how diff games handle that
I can't believe Life by You has just been cancelled
sad to see.... after the third delay I did worry
Yay! A new video 🙌
yeah, I've been a bit slower lately!
2:59 iirc, steam comes with its own data collection stuff and it’s really interesting! i saw it in a video for a platformer puzzle game, and the dev was able to figure out why people quit certain levels and found something rlly cool- a lot of players quit the level AFTER the one they struggled with. it seemed weird until he realised it was almost like a spite thing, finishing the level and then quitting for a while. random af tangent but i think data collection can be rlly useful in figuring out why players aren’t enjoying games and what makes them quit or play on.
oooh I hadn't even thought of that, thank you
I think if they add challenge difficulty to sims 2 levels that would be pretty fun.
Yeah, I would love if there were built-in difficulty settings, to accommodate people who want a really relaxing experience as well as people who want more challenge and chaos
Terrific video, Erin. I really like what they are doing and how they are pacing themselves. I'll be excited once this game is released. I think it will challenge both LBY and the Sims.
thank you
I'm mostly wanting to see more options and innovation in the genre
If it would be possible for all of this stuff to be added some stuff i'd like to see added to Paralives and all of the other upcoming life simulation games is State and County Fairs, Theme and Amusement Parks, Water Parks and Community Pools, Campgrounds, Summer and Day Camps, State and National Parks, Renaissance Fairs, Comic and Video Game and Movie Conventions, Game Tournaments, L.A.R.P.I.N.G., Airsoft Games, and Paintball Games
some of that/ most of that sounds quite fun; I think pools and campgrounds would be fairly simple while the others would probably take a bit to pull off
Interesting. Looking forward to following their progress, but honestly it's hard to know how engaging the game will be until it is played. Meanwhile, I look forward to hearing about it from you.
for sure, you can only discern so much
idc if they cutback some stuff, cause it will come later, and plus not to mention, you will be able to enjoy the game, know that there will be constant updates for free, and the game devs get feed back, and hopefully their money early to help support them for future updates
not sure there will be lots of constant updates, but yes, there will be free updates
It's interesting to see what they've decided to wait before adding. It looked like they had pools working fairly early, so I'm wondering why they are not going to have them during early access. It also makes me wonder what the status of weather is. (I'm not fond of weather in games and wouldn't mind if it wasn't included.) I'd also like to know if they're going to have the same build tools we saw originally or if they needed to pull back on those. If pools and zip lines (that we saw very early on in development) are not going to be included originally, it seems there might be a lot of other things that get pulled back that we saw early on.
The fact that the para can jump off the roof into the water is so much fun to watch
so obviously i have no idea about costs in game dev since im not in the field but i have to admit it really surprises me that their team is that small considering on their patreon page it says they are making $38,100 each month from patrons.
That's not even half a million dollars. most games have a much higher budget.
@@Fizzypopization a team that size doesn’t need 500,000 a month in operating costs.
I think a main issue is that this money is mostly from patreon and to some extent is hype based so they cant assume this 38,100 a month will turn into 400k a year because what if ppl remove support, you have to set aside funds in advance so that incase stuff hits the fan your workers will be alright (at least this is why i hope they are doing do that people can be paid consistantly). So they cant simply hire a full team expecting the money to be there iykwim.
Additionally many software and hardware costs can climb into the thousands .
I am also not a game devloper but i know gross income can be deciving
I actually broke this down before, I think I did a whole video on it! In short, you have to divide that amount by all team members and equate it to the cost of living in their area- which is on the higher side. That doesn't even equate to the cost of renting a studio and any additional; costs. If anything, they are a little shy on money. This is most of their full time job. The other concern is that Patreon money fluctates... so that is an average likely, and they're going to have low months too
and most bigger games cost many times that amount to make! to be fair, those games of course are bigger in scale in many ways.
Anyone hear of ANY NEW NEWS about what is going on with LBY lately. Been AWHILE. HOPE the team is doing well. 👍✌
haven't either, sadly. not since it was delayed, and that announcement wasn't even from the LBY team 😥
And today life by you got cancelled so I'm hoping this game can make it 😅 the Sims needs to have some competition
yes, I saw that is was canceled the other day
Omg when did you get 40k subs??CONGRATS
I’ve been following since late 100s/200s subs
oh wow you've seen some pretty goofy videos from me then!! what a throwback. Idk honestly. I have been near the same sub count for a while now ha. I suspect most of my growth was during the lockdown pandemic and it stopped mostly after. I am thankful regardless and very much happy I started creating videos. appreciate you
Ohh okay that makes sense i started watching you cause paralives was newly announced at the time & you did new on it
That might of been back then idr but you were a small yt maybe 1,000 or a few 1,000 views on a vid but i used keep up but i forgot about your channel for awhile
Good for you im happy about your success you deserve it salute
It's "just" early access, so it's fine. Have a few less things to focus on for the start might be really helpful. And only adding more things when they are stable and working as intended sounds like a smart way to go about things. Especially if that means the game is working well and without issues on the full release.
indeed, you want both a strong and stable foundation that then allows you to add more niche content later on
Paralives the only new sim im supporting
I think it's definitely better for the team not being overly ambitious with the game that will in then result with an unstable game then a stable one
absolutely you have to have a steady solid foundation first
I gave up on the Sims. Played 1-4, but it has only gone down hill. I have hopes for this, so here is hoping they polish it well
It sounds like they plan on a lengthy early access and they are giving themselves a fair bit of time before that too... but yes, we'll have to see how it goes from here
While it's 100% unnecessary, I totally want the option to wear a cowboy hat only when I'm playing a guitar and to zipline into the pool. So.. if they never implement it, I will be a tiny bit upset 😂😂 Should have never showed it to me.
ha ha no I get it. It could be a fun feature
I really like your videos. You show the negatives and positives with a hopeful vision for the future. It's always good to see a perspective like that. Nice video!
thank you so much!!! This means a lot to me. I am def not perfect, but my goal is to try to be honest in my analysis
i just hope they add direct control too
haven't heard anything on that aspect
I've wanted a functional simulated toaster since sims 1
yeah, it's weird we haven't gotten one until now!
When’s the release date for next year?
they have not set an exact date, to provide themselves flexibility. We only know the year for now
Thank you for the update! I always appreciate your videos on these things. I wanna say whats funny is for a large amount of people who practice polyamory that's exactly how it is thought of or practiced haha. Its actually kinda awesome to see if they keep polyam in the game and keep it this way.
But it would be cool if they could add like a "sister wives" relationship or something 🤔🤔 I guess if you share a gf, it's brother boyfriends 😂😂 I'm not into polyamory, but they should go full out if they're gonna do it. Maybe someone can recreate the family from the Sister Wives reality show 😂😂
Thank you for the kind comment. I really appreciate it!
Yes, that is true. I don't know the percentage or anything like that, but it does often work that way
I do suspect this choice was made primarily from a programming point of view
awsome video friend
thank you
@@SimmerErin yqw friend
I'm considering paying for early access, but I want to wait a little while for reports of how it's going.
seems sensible
The data collection concerns me a little. I don't want the animal crossing situation again.
I am not playing animal crossing right now, and not aware of what is happening, could be interesting to look into
I was more excited about Life By You until I just heard it's been cancelled. This may be the last hope. Inzoi doesn't really interest me much.
Same here.
yeah, sad to see that for sure. I know there are a few others, but most don't appear to be the scope of a full life simulation..
I cover InZoi but def confess I am no fan of it
@@SimmerErin It's too realistic.
Grand Theft Paralives
LOL what a crossover that would be . It's very hard to imagine
@@SimmerErin stopped short of saying do it you cowards
can't wait to play paralives 💖
Polyamory is not just "group relationships" (those are actually quite rare in the community), so I'm totally fine with it, I just want the possibility for Paras to have multiple relationships without the other lovers getting jealous, just like in my life 😅
very true, I think a some people don't realize that. I doubt that's even very common done that way
No cares about Project Rene. My eggs are in paralives or lifebyyou. I have zero desire to purchase any EA products anymore. They’ve already had enough of my money since 2000 and the company is garbage. I’ll wait for a better competitor and so far Paralives is most promising
it's totally fine to not care about it, but statements like no one or everyone are almost never true
Okay, here's my honest opinion in the comments below.
"Life Sim" games are fine, not knocking it if that's what you're into. But playing a game should be fun....babysitting virtual characters doesn't sound like fun to me. Again, NOT KNOCKING it if that's what you're into.
My comment is to point out the other virtual world simulation program OpenSim, the free version of Second Life. While it's not going on your phone, you need a real computer to even run it, it actually gives you all the gratification of the stuff people are enjoying in the Sims without babysitting characters.
In OS, the character is called an Avatar and the region or virtual world is called the "sim". You operate your avatar and engage through it. Unlike the Sims where the character is basically an NPC that has to stick to a certain criteria. You OS Avi can do whatever you want to do, it's basically the virtual "you"......and you in the world.
But OS is also the only true platform to access the actual Metaverse. No, not the Zuckerberg facebook bs, but the actual one. Imagine you set up your virtual world, whether it's a beach or cabin or spaceship, whatever environment you want, enable "Hypergrid" which is the internet of the virtual worlds and if you have friends around the real world whose worlds are HG enabled, you can teleport into them as easily as you check out their websites.
In the worlds, you are able to collaborate, hang out, VR engage, and even collaboratively build the environments together.
If you log into your world and walk your avatar to a sidewalk, then go pass out and come back the next morning, the avi is still standing there. It's controlled by you. It's not dead or doing warped stuff because it didn't get fed, wash up, or make friends.
But all you can do in the sims, you can do with OS and it's completely free. All the assets are free. If you import a world somebody made, all the assets on it belong to you to do with as you please. Pick it clean and build your own thing.
It's nectarines and oranges but once you go OS, it's hard to go back to procedurally generated simulators when you can do all of it on the fly in real time, live, love, play, engage. Check it out at the site called Outworldz and download the Dreamgrid installer to try it out.
I'm pretty cool on Paralives, personally. I've said this all along, but it seems like it's all about playing as these aesthetic, young, lefty, perfect dolls and nothing else. I like to have weirdos and uggos and creeps and jerks and MAGA idiots in my game too. Basically, I want to play a life sim, not a Grammarly commercial.
Buuuuut I can see myself joining the early access anyway, just for the novelty of it, and because I genuinely enjoy reporting bugs, haha.
theyre not releasing it
they have already confirmed early access.
@@SimmerErin that’s nice it’s still not coming out it’s been a cash grab for 4 years.
i thought this was a scam game
what do you mean by ;scam
@@SimmerErin someone was saying it was a scam to just get ppl's money and it will never release, so im surprised they're coming out with early access
Paralives for me lacks ambition in its gameplay and its timelines. What is it offering in terms of gameplay that is significantly better than the Sims 3? Which came out 15 years ago. I fear in the long run, as more competitive and ambitious outfits enter the market, it will simply get overtaken and left behind
I try to mostly see it as its own game vs comparing directly against sims 3.
so far I am not sure a game will top sims 3 for me
Girl, I heard you wrote a book! 🤍🤍🤗✨
Yes, I announced it a long back on my community tab. It was published by a small press and is called Sky of Ashes, Land of Dreams. How did you hear?
@@SimmerErin In one strem, The Hendford Hen mentioned, I alredy find it on e bay!
@@SimmerErin
On one stream, @TheHenfordHenn mentioned and I already found it on Ebay! 🤍🤍🥰
I sadly don’t have a PC, so unless this comes out on console… I guess I’m stuck with the Sims 4. Just though I’d share this information for no real reason other than letting you know that I live in hope it’ll come to Xbox.
yes, there aren't many console options. Renee (sims) does plan for console too. but as of now, not paralives