Honest question: Does this game plan to differentiate from The Sims in any major way?

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I’m not sure if this is the best place to post, but I was wondering if this game is trying to be more than just a “better graphics The Sims”? If that is the intention, does anyone have info on inZOI team’s plans regarding features that stand out against the standard Sims games?

Beyond the gen AI stuff which is more of a side-show, what core features are planned that are meant to really make this game different besides graphics? I’ve played the game for a few hours and I genuinely cannot tell any big differences (besides missing/incomplete features frankly). I’ve tried the smartZOI thing but… it just doesn’t have much of an impact that I can tell even after experimenting.

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Please restore the original Enneagram circle design + 4 original traits in the game! (with Discord links, scheme, and improvements)
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Ironically enough, it was more distinct from “The Sims” in version 0.10 to 0.20.
Version 0.30 took a turn bringing the game closer to the sims with it’s interface and shifting focus.
We’re hoping they will go back to those early concepts that have shown much premise and were really fun to play.

For more information, I recommend going on discord and ask in the channel where Kjun is asking for questions.

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They renamed it into 10.03.25 - Swimming for some reason that do not understand.
I would love if you got your questions replied to in the next Kjun answers as I want to know to !

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sadly they seem to be listening to loud simmers now. they’re even talking about changing the open world to more like sims 4s style.

for smart zoi, try simple prompts like ‘he likes to work out’, that should drive the zoi to work out more. or ‘he doesn’t like music’ should stop them from using the radio as much.

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Maybe it’s just me, but in version 2.0, that used to work perfectly. Just writing something like ‘hates TV’ would make them never watch it, but now, they just watch it anyway

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Unpopular opinion: I liked the new interface just as much as the old one

:slightly_smiling_face:

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To be honest, I’ve never had such thoughts. I approached the game with no expectations, and I didn’t think it was just another Sims in a different package. The only thing they share, for me, is life management and the familiar style of life control that Sims itself uses; among games like this, we only had Sims. This is a completely different world with its own charm, which hardly ever resembles Sims. Likewise, I have zero thoughts about the interface looking like Sims, even though I’ve been playing Sims for a long time and create content about it.

It seems to me that if we consider content, this life is derived from Sims and InzoI, simply presented from a different angle. If we don’t consider the completeness of the game, Sims looked more polished at launch because its scope was smaller and it felt more cohesive in certain aspects, whereas in InzoI there are many possibilities, but they’re not finished.

Speaking of main features, I’d call them customizable possibilities, followed by gameplay. In the future, we could create our own animations, possibly build through AI, and transfer our creations via a painter—this represents a huge creative potential and a great opportunity. If we look at the game itself, the enduring mechanics will be those that last and influence many things, but in my view it’s still early for that. The game isn’t that old yet, and shifting interests is normal to some extent since it’s often said plans can change, and the genre isn’t simple.

Although I still feel the roadmap largely remains unchanged. So I’d highlight customizable capabilities and mechanics, with a focus on bespoke mechanics. The only thing I hope for is the development of karma and intelligent characters, ensuring they aren’t removed, while I generally agree with many other decisions—except perhaps the issue of cities, which is indeed a difficult topic.

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And that’s fine. But where’s the option for ppl like me that preferred the old one ?
See, it’s something to force a change into someone’s throat and force them to like it, but it’s far better to add an option in the menu for “Classic UI” which remains small and you have to mouse over it to get more detailed information… Both are good… I just want the OPTION.

Not asking for the moon here, at least I don’t think so.

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Product “Uniqueness”

• The concept of uniqueness evokes positive connotations related to the desirability of the product for consumers.
• Cardello et al., 2016, the concept of product “uniqueness” … began by taking a marketing-based perspective, in which unique products are defined as those that are highly differentiated from other products in their category on the basis of perceivable sensory, image, functional, emotional or other product characteristics that are positively valued by the consumer.
• Product differentiation is essential to product and brand success. However, to be useful, such differentiation must be:
(1) perceivable by the consumer in terms of sensory, functional, image and emotional attributes of the products, and
(2) important to consumers in terms of adding positive value to the product.
• A unique product is also “one of a kind” and, in that sense, it may be considered “unusual” or “novel” in some way but not so unusual or novel that it evokes a neophobic response, or if it is simply disliked by large segments of the population.
• Another characteristic of unique products that has been addressed by marketing researchers is the breadth and extent of its purchase, use or consumption situations. Products that are appropriate for use across multiple situations are more likely to be successful in the marketplace.
• In addition, the advantage of segmenting consumers on the basis of use situations for the purpose of product marketing was introduced by Dickson (1982), who realized that, to the extent that any product appeals to a greater number of consumer segments, greater market success is likely to follow.
• From a contemporary product research standpoint, the concepts of product differentiation and uniqueness cannot be discussed without a consideration of the emotional impact that the product delivers. Evocation of active and positive emotions among consumers was a critical element in identifying products that could be considered “unique” from a marketing perspective.

Cardello et al. (2016)
Cardello et al. (2017) Product uniqueness: Further exploration and application of a consumer-based methodology.
PsycInfo Database Record (2025)

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In general, I always think that you should give people the opportunity to choose, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mean anything bad.
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5. Game Identity

Many players expressed their wish for inZOI to be more than a “Sims clone”, emphasizing its own depth and realism.

Thank you so much for this encouragement.

While we value your feedback, the inZOI team also adheres to its own development philosophy—for example:

Using AI to make ZOIs behave and communicate more like humans.

Building systems that empower players to create diverse user-generated content.

Some of these systems already show real potential, and we can’t wait to share them soon.

Although most of the team is focused on improving existing features, two dedicated teams are developing new systems.

Even if we fail, we’ll keep pursuing bold ideas to create truly unique fun experiences.

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I think people will keep on saying that inZOI is a Sims clone, no matter what the devs do, since these two games (and Paralives soon) are the only games in this sub genre.
And their purpose is to simulate life.
So they all get thrown in one pot and since The Sims was the only game in this genre for 20+ years, it’s hard to bring up something truely unique because there is only so much life you can simulate ^^’
One could also claim all shooters are the same. You log in and you shoot.
Yet still they are different.

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The 3rd-person view, direct input and driving mechanics were a bit confusing at first, since they essentially form a GTA (open-world action) meets Sims formula, which has been a dream for many players since the days of Sims 2 and GTA: SA (21 year). This hybrid gave a strong boost to sales and became part of the game’s USP. To solidify the success of the Early Access release, it’s easier for the team to evolve these mechanics rather than discard them. It would also significantly support console sales, where direct input is much more intuitive with controllers, and notably, this was a core feature of URBZ, Sims 2 Console, Bustin’ Out, and so on, if we’re talking life sims.

You just kind of forgot how many great life-sim games existed beyond the main PC series.

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Sure, but if people want to claim it’s a Sims Clone, they will, just because they can - and because it is a life simulation after all, and there are no ‘major’ ways to really be different without becoming a genre mix.

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In fact, there are even more features they’ve either dropped or never mentioned, like Karma, Control City, or Memory, as if they never existed. Meanwhile, they’re pulling in things directly from Sims, like burglars. If they added pickpocketing, it would already feel like a nod to Assassin’s Creed. And instead of Sims 3-style Traits, add an Emotion Cloud – that would be The Alters. They just need to borrow proportionally and finally close the Sims 4 window for good… or better yet, uninstall it from everyone’s PC.

As I mentioned, I play a huge number of games, and 95% of them aren’t life sims. Believe me, there’s far more out there that would suit life sims than what usually gets brought into them.

And one more thing – the customer is always right. :wink:

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The open world is what makes inzoi unique to The Sims. Sims does not have an open world. I really like the open world and that is why I play inzoi.

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This 100%.

There are so many of us with different ideas and views, we can’t possibly all be “right” about what should be implemented in this game, it wouldn’t be possible. You can never please everyone, because we inevitably don’t all agree… Except that the game should be good, of course!

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There’s a bit of a gap between the players’ wishlist and what’s been shown in footage, interviews, and the roadmap. We still don’t have an actual roadmap, and not everything from the old one has been implemented. The only thing that remains is a vocal subset on Discord. Those who expected roadmap alignment are now trying to anchor themselves in whatever signals are left.

If there’s a roadmap and you were expecting something else… well, friend, that’s on you, you should’ve read it. But if there isn’t one, how are you supposed to step away and wait for release without risking getting a completely different game than the one that was originally promised at purchase?

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I find it interesting how to vibe is a so different with how things are here vs Reddit vs Discord. With Discord especially, it feels like someone trying to force the new person they’re dating to dress, sound, and behave exactly like their ex.

I’m not saying that the Sims franchise hasn’t come up with good ideas throughout its almost twenty years. It’s okay for the Inzoi team to be inspired by the Sims, especially with certain systems that are known to work. Still, they should focus on improving and invocation instead of mere replication wholesale.

I can understand the bafflement and slight bewilderment the Inzoi team is getting with so many messages with totally different wants.

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Let me preface this entire post with this: I understand that this is an Early Access game, and as such, it’s subject to massive changes which may or may not continue to appeal to me by the time it’s finally released.

That has happened to me with other Early Access games that had something special that just needed polish and some added depth. One stayed in Early Access for almost 10 years, but I’d already quit playing it and hid it in my Steam library out of shame and disappointment. A good game where the developers were bound and determined to develop the fun out of it…

Anyway…

I saw a preview video of the “Halloween” update (because the influencers had to get the update before everyone else, so we get it one day before the Halloween thing it’s sort of featuring). To be honest though, I think they meant for it to be ready to come out last week and it just wasn’t ready.

However…

I feel really sad. :cry:

I can never play my existing zois again. :sob:
I made a Let’s Play series with an extended cast. It was lots of fun for myself and the small number of viewers I get on the videos. Thank goodness I finished Chapter One (the series has a satisfying resolution to the original plot points). I worked hard to record episodes before the update that I thought would come a week ago. I was afraid of personalities changing before I could finish the final episodes.

I planned to do a Chapter Two in the future if personalities didn’t change too much. But they have indeed changed too much.

I’m glad to hear that people can play zois with bad behaviour and not feel bad for being sociopaths or something. :joy: I can definitely understand the appeal and I plan to play a “bad zoi” someday. I just think they could’ve made improvements so “bad zois” could be fun to play.

People on Discord keep screaming, “You want it taken away from other players,” when I’ve never said that about anything. But these Sims players have taken away from every player who appreciated the difference in inZOI actually using something based on human psychology for the personalities.

Now we get a handful of archetypes that don’t even match the images they bear. The Entertainer image is now a Troublemaker??? What happened to my Entertainers? I can’t play them anymore. Sims players took that away. I admit I feel resentment toward the bulk of “The Sims crowd,” and now that so many are boycotting EA, they’ll put even more pressure on the inZOI team to create a The Sims Clone Number One.”

Ruining existing personalities is one thing I may or may not be able to forgive… but what about those dumb (my opinion) traits… oh, temperaments (so it’s not the same as Sims, you see)? Depressed: a zoi depressed for their entire life is depressing. Couldn’t depression be added in situation related to game events? If sad things happen close together, Sad emotion could lead to Depression, which a player could have their zoi work through by going to counselling sessions. The game could assign a hidden value to the Depression condition that indicates how severe it is, and how many session to overcome the condition.

But now they’ll just be depressed. Joyful zois will just be happy a lot. Clumsy? What is that going to add to the gameplay… realistically, I mean? And how is that a temperament?? :thinking: Same with Bibliophile. A book lover has a completely different temperament? And then Fitness Enthusiast. My zoi with fitness preferences wants to and does work out all the time. Look away, he’s lifting weights. LOL He feels lethargic after his intense workout obsession, but now if I pick that as a temperament, he will feel lethargic before and after?? Sounds fun.

I will stop. I’m just really feeling it at the moment. I’m not entirely sure if inZOI will be the game for me when it leaves Early Access. Aside from uploading zois and outfits, I will be playing another game for a while. I don’t feel like playing anymore with the furniture refurbishing making it so I can’t upload anything I build, and I have to go into build mode and manually replace almost every piece of furniture all the time.

It’s already not fun for me. I’m taking a break for now. Sims players will have their way.

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I’ve completely stopped playing with Smart Zoi, even though it was one of the features I was most excited about.

I could never get the prompt to work. Well, after the Cahaya update, I had my zoi think ONCE about the fact he is a shaman, but he never thought about needing to visit the temple often (as I put in the prompt), or to want to meditate after every dream he had. Just one day he thought about keeping himself balanced because he’s a shaman.

I find the internal thoughts windows distracting to my gameplay because I’m always curious, so I pause and check what it says, and most often, it’s nothing I should’ve bothered with. Smart Zoi internal thoughts also seems inspired by individuals with relatively quiet internal monologues. That’s not uncommon—my husband doesn’t have a constant stream of narrated thoughts like I do.

I was hoping that Smart Zoi would influence behaviours, but instead, it just tells me what the zoi is thinking. I prefer to imagine what they’re thinking.

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