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Eco-Living - Off the Grid
Candacis
Posts: 186 Member
I thought, I would offer some thoughts to this variant and what could be done with it:
Ragged clothing, ragged hairstyles, long beards: this will be useful for not only off the grid, but homelessness, poor people, zombies etc. - and mix it up with some independent mixmash hipster style
New Plant: Cotton/Flax for the Sewing Skill
New Skill: Knitting - prepare the wool, stitch or knit clothes out of cotton or flax. Of course the clothes should be wearable and sellable
Chickens: Chickens are an easy and great way to add some Meat and Eggs to an Off the Grid Living and might be interesting for players who want a farm experience
Candles and Oil Lamps and Fireplaces
A shower with just a bucket, a round wooden bathtub which you have to fill with a water bucket, an outdoor toilet (not as comfortable than the one in Outdoor Retreat)
Generator that can generate electricity, maybe not without its problems, Solar energy panels, Windmill
This being a Suff and not a Game Pack I refrained from too many ideas.
Ragged clothing, ragged hairstyles, long beards: this will be useful for not only off the grid, but homelessness, poor people, zombies etc. - and mix it up with some independent mixmash hipster style
New Plant: Cotton/Flax for the Sewing Skill
New Skill: Knitting - prepare the wool, stitch or knit clothes out of cotton or flax. Of course the clothes should be wearable and sellable
Chickens: Chickens are an easy and great way to add some Meat and Eggs to an Off the Grid Living and might be interesting for players who want a farm experience
Candles and Oil Lamps and Fireplaces
A shower with just a bucket, a round wooden bathtub which you have to fill with a water bucket, an outdoor toilet (not as comfortable than the one in Outdoor Retreat)
Generator that can generate electricity, maybe not without its problems, Solar energy panels, Windmill
This being a Suff and not a Game Pack I refrained from too many ideas.
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Comments
Do you think chickens could really fit in a Stuff Pack? I would love a coop. I'm only bummed about this pack because everybody is focusing on laundry but we certainly don't have to! I can't understand... this deep interest in laundry. I get it is a part of daily existence and laundry rooms are a part of many houses but... it's like devoting a pack to dishes. I would rather it be a quick clean-up in my game and not think about it too much.
I think they should include a sewing machine, even two versions, one modern, and one old fashioned, and the ability to make clothes, or stuff for around the home.
I doubt that they'll ever add any non-fish animals for food. Who want's to slaughter a chicken for dinner? Sure, I might do something like that irl, but I doubt many people would want it in the game. Chickens for eggs and feathers, sure. I can see that happening.
Candles and oil lamps aren't particularly eco friendly. Solar light are.
Bucket showers are an awesome way to save water.
A generator isn't particularly eco friendly, solar and wind power are better ideas.
I think they should include a sewing machine, even two versions, one modern, and one old fashioned, and the ability to make clothes, or stuff for around the home.
I doubt that they'll ever add any non-fish animals for food. Who want's to slaughter a chicken for dinner? Sure, I might do something like that irl, but I doubt many people would want it in the game. Chickens for eggs and feathers, sure. I can see that happening.
Candles and oil lamps aren't particularly eco friendly. Solar light are.
Bucket showers are an awesome way to save water.
A generator isn't particularly eco friendly, solar and wind power are better ideas.
I think they should include a sewing machine, even two versions, one modern, and one old fashioned, and the ability to make clothes, or stuff for around the home.
I doubt that they'll ever add any non-fish animals for food. Who want's to slaughter a chicken for dinner? Sure, I might do something like that irl, but I doubt many people would want it in the game. Chickens for eggs and feathers, sure. I can see that happening.
Candles and oil lamps aren't particularly eco friendly. Solar light are.
Bucket showers are an awesome way to save water.
A generator isn't particularly eco friendly, solar and wind power are better ideas.
I follow "Off the grid" blogs, and they always look very down to Earth, but put together.
This seems too much for a stuff pack. But I would love chickens for eggs. Also the knitting skill with a sewing machine would make me happy. A sewing machine and canning are things I really want to come to the game.
I miss the sewing and pottery skills from TS2 and would love to add knitting, as long as what our Sims make with all these skills is usable in the game.
I also miss the canning station and chicken coop from TS3. I want the food we grow in our gardens and the food that is canned to have an effect on the food we cook. It should be more filling and keep the hunger bar full longer and give a positive moodlet.
I miss the canning and chickens too. I still play TS3 and it really comes down to laundry, canning, chickens and cows. I could even give up the cows. I really do love "Home & Hearth" game play. Doing things around the house and living off the land.
I don't expect to get much with an SP, but I do hope to at least cross off one or two of these things on my list.
As much as I would love cows and chickens, I think it was SG Graham on Twitter who said (I'm paraphrasing) that they can't do animals in a stuff pack, which is one of the reasons I would rather they do this theme in a game pack. He also said that their going to file the other themes and suggestions for them and they may be used later. So hopefully if there is enough enthusiasm and support for this type of a pack, they may do it in a game pack in the future.
I don't think chickens would be a part of this pack, though. But I could definitely see laundry and canning. Those two are really the ones I miss the most.
Yeah, you're right they were. I guess I was thinking more about the animation that would go along with interacting with them. With a stuff pack, apparently the ability to add new animations is very limited. Not enough money in the budget for a stuff pack. They could probably pick one, but I think this theme would work better with a game pack so it could be fleshed out more and give us more game play.
Really with laundry they could reuse the animations that they use with trash. Your clothes fall on the floor in a pile when you change, you pick them up like you do trash, and then you place them to the laundry basket or washing machine like you would throw trash away. I think laundry would be pretty easy to add, as far as the animation goes.
The same goes for a composting bin. Use the same animation that they use for trash. They would only have to add an option to "compost" to the pie menu for trash, food, and spoiled food. When the compost is ready, do a swipe animation (that they already have) and the fertilizer is added to the inventory. Maybe "reskin" a trash can to look like a compost bin. If they ever add seasons, then they could do the same if we have to rake leaves.
That would leave canning open for the new animation. It could possibly work similar to cooking or making the herbal remedies. Maybe be able to reuse some of the animations to save money.
Yes, I did think of that. I guess it depends on whether they choose to add hand washing. Some people have suggested more old fashioned ways (eco) ways of washing clothes using a basin, which would be a different animation. Unless perhaps they could use the sink dish washing animation for that too.
Personally, I'd rather simple animations or ones they can reuse (like the trash) if that means we can have more game play objects.
I agree.
Thats how everyone needs to be thinking.
Just like if they add washing machines, loading a front loader would be the same animation as loading a dryer, and it would be the same animation as loading the washing machine bike, which would then add a riding a bike animation, that could be reused for both gym equipment, and riding an acutual bike.
Basically, everyone should want teh washer bike, cos it gives access to at least 4 other items, using the same animations. It makes the laundry lover happy, and it makes the cycle freaks happy. Add in death by cycling/laundry, and the death fans will be happy.
I would also like a typewriter, for an eco friendly writer retreat. Don't worry, the paper is recycled, and any dud pages can be recycled too. A type writer would more or less use the same animation as a computer.
Yes please, especially to the sewing machine. I am not into sewing IRL but I loved having the sewing machine in Sims 2 and having my sims wear their own creations and sell them. The outdoor bathroom stuff sounds handy too.
But I feel we should be thinking more broadly than this:- Self-sufficiency is not just a practical thing, but a whole life-style. It often means opting out of the mainstream economy, so people who choose that lifestyle would not have conventional jobs and would not have much money to spend. They might prefer to revert to a barter system. So, for example, it would be nice if sims could trade inventory items with other sims. We need to bring back gift-giving too -- sims should be able to give away any item in their inventories as a gift, in exchange for a relationship boost.
Self-sufficiency often means opting out of mainstream social institutions, like the schooling system, as well. I would like to see a home-schooling option for sim kids (I have wanted this for a long time anyway). Home-schooling is more than just letting your kids stay away from school and running riot, though. In modern countries that allow it, it is normally quite carefully regulated. Kids have to be taught according to the established syllabus and are expected to meet certain assessment standards, so sim parents who opted for home-schooling would need to spend time each day working with their kids, to keep their grades up. Simmers looking for more things to do with their kids might enjoy this.
I want a return of the arts and crafts movement too.
Pottery, sewing.... canning?
I'd also like a farmers/craft market. Like the flea market, but for produce or crafted items, or baked goods.
In australia, we have a variation that is used for distance education (really handy for those who live in remote areas). Classes used to be done via radio, but now they're done via the internet.
The parents don't have to be as involved, since there's a teacher on the other end of the line, who does the actual teaching. The parents just keep an eye on things, to check that the kids aren't sneaking off. It makes a lot of sense, since the parents actually have jobs to do, not just sit around with the kids all day.
It's called School of the Air.
Psst - maybe you should keep this under your hat, otherwise all we will get is another computer interaction with 'study for school' on it, which won't be much fun at all (I remember we had it in sims 1; I can't remember if it was in Sims 3 too).
Considering it's the only way I'd be happy with home schooling added, maybe I should be shouting it from the roof tops!
School of the Air is awesome!
I did some classes through one of the variations of it when I was in high school, because my school didn't offer the subjects I wanted to do.
All of those would be great, and much more useful to me than laundry