The character models are kinda a basic issue. Like I said, didn't seem like they had issues creating systems (mini games, relationships, traits, jobs, etc etc) but if you wait to long to fix the most basic part of a game (the characters in this case), you're creating a LOT of work for yourself down the line.

Let's pretend they did have an animator with these models and they created 300 different animations that really only work with these anatomically awkward models. 300 animations is probably months and months of work. Maybe even a year.

Then at some point, they release Early Access with all the extra features they planned to add later. That comes with more and more animations. 200 to 300 more animations with these awkward models.

Now they're finally gonna replace the models........ that means the animator has to remake at least 600+ animations potentially from scratch because they had to work with such an awkward model. That's a whole extra year or so of development time to redo a basic feature. An issue that could've been avoided if they started with better models.

At the point of a beta, aka Early Access, the characters should already be sorted out at the very least so all the other features can be piled on top.

^And that's just for the character anatomy! Then you had other things like the lack of game direction and the over-focus on modding both decided at the onset of the project also crippling the game. Its not hard to see why it was cancelled, they made a lot of bad decisions right from the jump and at this point it was too late to course correct. If there's one lesson to take away for game developers: have a very precise vision and plan of the game you want to make before even thinking of starting.

Except that I don't see anything in your post as a reason to be cancelled. The mod tools were tools they use themselves to add objects, like mentioned in their vids. Kind of like how the creation kit for an Elder Scrolls game is derived from their own developing tools to create quests and environments. You can expect all developing studios to have something like that, because usually the level designers and graphic artists are not also coders. So they need convenient tools to add assets. So whether or not they release them to the public, they are already there and being used by themselves.

It is kind of sad that most reasoning I see for the cancelling are just personal gripes with the game. I know the characters look bad, but that can be fixed. Animations can be reworked. This does not have to be done all at once.

Like I said, it's not just that the characters look bad. They are wrong. It's not simple to just "fix" it later. It should've been fixed as soon as possible. You can't build a game properly if your basic systems are not ready at the time of beta else the cost of development will balloon.

The character's anatomy, animation, and appearance is just as import as the modding system or skill system or gardening system. I'm not someone who thinks everything should look perfect in early access. I have played and will play plenty of ugly games. But it's not that the characters are ugly, it's that they're straight up wrong.

It's pretty clear they used this free unity asset to start off with as a base. It has the exact same anatomical issues: https://assetstore.unity.com/packag...se-avatar-35611

I don't think there's wrong with using unity assets to start with. After all, that's what they're for. But why stick with these when you have other cheap options such as:
https://assetstore.unity.com/packag...man-base-176568
https://assetstore.unity.com/packag...ase-pack-248506
https://assetstore.unity.com/packag...ase-pack-237635
(insert dozes of others that might be a little nsfw since they're nude)

Like I said, I am baffled that they stuck with the direction they were going and just, didn't seem to change much of anything at all. I fear the reason they stuck with these models for so long is because they were ALREADY too far along to replace them so they tweaked them here and there and then seemingly gave up fixing them after a while. Probably because they didn't have someone on staff well versed in human anatomy to fix them properly or someone who could animate/pose them better.

I'm sure there were plenty of other issues that compounded on this singular one, but it truly starts to add up eventually.

When the developers said they got the proverbial rug pulled out from beneath them, I kinda got the feeling that the whole thing had issues from the point where they couldn't return and it was more a gut feeling that the issue was from a higher-up's decision that we weren't prepared for.

Personally, the game didn't look aesthetically displeasing. I found it refreshing from the cartoony looks, and those videos were interesting to see development.

That and they were performing at the maximum outputs in said department, so something is amiss.

Unfortunately, when you have too many cooks spoiling the broth, all that's left is a mess that no one wants to clean.

It's like going out for a 7 course meal, only to be given a cup of instant noodles because the kitchen end up running out of food.

To be honest, I kind of felt both robbed and hit with realization like a ton of bricks. My mother and I live by the ideal of "if it's too good to be true, it must be." Waited a year and a half to try it and the cancellation just wasn't expected...at least at first.

The fact that they were pushing to get it out the door is a big mistake programmers make. Not even AAA games like the Pokémon series were immune to issues like that and many issues found in the Scarlet and Violet installment were obvious nightmare fuel for player and programmer alike. (The glitches were eventually patched out.)

In any case, it would have to be a miracle to remake a God game of the caliber that Life By You was striving for.

I went through the reddit thread (BTW, it' still there). Deventhal's post is filled with inconsistencies but the one that interests me the most is: early on, he writes about LBY as "an indie answer to the aging IP that is the Sims" but later he tells us that the team "did everything we could to prove to [Paradox] we were worth launching, including ... suggesting cutting ties and going indie."

So, if I understand this correctly, they were never indie; they were just behaving like they were. Having combined these with other statements in the post I must admit I feel more sympathy for Paradox CEOs. Now I am just hoping that Paralives is not secretly part of EA. It would be a great strategy, letting the game develop for awhile, then squashing it and saying "See? We are the only ones who can make a proper Sims game!", but I am afraid this exceeds their level of competence.

They weren't indie no, they were a AA studio being funded by a rich publisher.

As excited as I was when this was announced, it's hard to even feel disappointed at this point. Even after two major delays, countless core features were still nowhere on the horizon. In fact, the game was missing so many of the life sim essentials that I'm not sure what the actual gameplay was supposed to be, and honestly I don't think the devs had a clear enough idea on that either.

As far as accounts of the cancellation and shutdown, it may take some time before the whole story is fully resolved and organized for us, because I have seen only part of the stories of those involved.

Sadly, the fact is that, with the rush to Early Access, the missing parts of the menus, interfaces, among other elements, the output reported and otherwise attempting balance of substance and style, gameplay and graphics...well, the story seems rather suspicious in terms of missing elements. I only know as far as I got from the official reports and small elements from social media confessions.

Remember, stories of this type have more than one side and it may be a while before an official "post mortem" of what could have been "The Sims with the brakes cut" in terms of a rival is completed.

I feel like we would understand LBY a lot more if they had posted a roadmap of their progress and future checklist like many people suggested. I feel like the question always pops up, "What is their focus" and the answer always seems to be modding. Which again, is totally fine, but what else?